System and method for uplink panel selection with power saving

ABSTRACT

Some embodiments of this disclosure include apparatuses and methods for uplink panel selection with power saving. In some embodiments, user equipment (UE) may experience a positional change. In response, the UE may deactivate a first communication panel to save power and activate a second communication panel. The UE may then transmit a status message to a communication node indicating the activation and/or deactivation. The node may then register this activation and/or deactivation. In some embodiments, the node may monitor uplink slots from the first and second communication panel to identify the activation and deactivation. For example, if the node detects an absence of an uplink signal within a slot threshold, the node may identify the panel as being deactivated. The node may establishing communications with another panel based on a detected signal and/or the status message.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/807,186, filed Feb. 18, 2019, which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Various embodiments generally may relate to the field of wirelesscommunications.

SUMMARY

Some embodiments of this disclosure include apparatuses and methods foruplink panel selection with power saving.

In some embodiments, a method for identifying a deactivatedcommunication panel may include communicating with a user equipment (UE)via a first communication panel of the UE. The method may includemonitoring uplink slots from the first communication panel anddetecting, within a slot threshold, an absence of an uplink signal inthe uplink slots. In response to the detecting, the method may includeregistering the first communication panel as being deactivated andestablishing communications with the UE via a second communication panelof the UE.

In some embodiments, the method may include the slot threshold being avalue in milliseconds.

In some embodiments, the method may include the absence of an uplinksignal including an absence of a scheduled transmission from the firstcommunication panel

In some embodiments, the method may include the absence of an uplinksignal including an absence of a beam reporting.

In some embodiments, to establish the communications via the secondcommunication panel, the method may include receiving a status messagefrom the UE indicating activation of the second communication panel andregistering the second communication panel as being activated.

In some embodiments, the method may include the status message includinga scheduling offset indicating a delay for activating the secondcommunication panel.

In some embodiments, the method may include the status message being abit map.

In some embodiments, an apparatus, such as a network system or node, mayidentifying a deactivated UE communication panel. The apparatus maycomprise radio front end circuitry and processing circuitry coupled tothe radio front end circuitry. The processing circuitry may beconfigured to communicate with a user equipment (UE) via the radio frontend circuitry and via a first communication panel of the UE. Theprocessing circuitry may be configured to monitor uplink slots from thefirst communication panel and detect, within a slot threshold, anabsence of an uplink signal in the uplink slots. In response to thedetecting, the processing circuitry may register the first communicationpanel as being deactivated and establish communications with the UE viathe radio front end circuitry and via a second communication panel ofthe UE.

In some embodiments, the slot threshold may be a value in milliseconds.

In some embodiments, the absence of an uplink signal may include anabsence of a scheduled transmission from the first communication panel

In some embodiments, the absence of an uplink signal may include anabsence of a beam reporting.

In some embodiments, to establish the communications via the secondcommunication panel, the processing circuitry may be further configuredto receive a status message from the UE indicating activation of thesecond communication panel and register the second communication panelas being activated.

In some embodiments, the status message may include a scheduling offsetindicating a delay for activating the second communication panel.

In some embodiments, the status message may be a bit map.

In some embodiments, a method for activating a communication panel mayinclude identifying a movement of a user equipment (UE). In response tothe movement, the method may include deactivating a first UEcommunication panel. The method may include activating a second UEcommunication panel and transmitting a status message to a communicationnode indicating the deactivation of the first UE communication panel orthe activation of the second UE communication panel.

In some embodiments, the method may include the status message includinga scheduling offset indicating a delay for activating the secondcommunication panel.

In some embodiments, the method may include the status message being abit map.

In some embodiments, the method may include the status message beingtransmitted periodically.

In some embodiments, the method may include the status message includingbeam reporting.

In some embodiments, the method may include the beam reporting includinga measured panel index.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of UE panel selection according toembodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example system architecture according toembodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates another example system architecture according toembodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates another example system architecture according toembodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary infrastructureequipment according to embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary platform according toembodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of baseband circuitry and front endmodules according to embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of exemplary protocol functions thatmay be implemented in a wireless communication device according toembodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of exemplary core network componentsaccording to embodiments.

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of system components for supportingnetwork function virtualization according to embodiments.

FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computer system thatcan be utilized to implement various embodiments.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart for uplink antennal panel selectionaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 13 illustrates a flowchart for uplink antennal panel selection fora gNB according to some embodiments.

FIG. 14 illustrates a flowchart for uplink panel selection withreporting according to some embodiments.

FIG. 15 illustrates a flowchart for uplink panel selection with slotmonitoring according to some embodiments.

The features and advantages of the embodiments will become more apparentfrom the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunctionwith the drawings, in which like reference characters identifycorresponding elements throughout. In the drawings, like referencenumbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/orstructurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element firstappears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the correspondingreference number.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.The same reference numbers may be used in different drawings to identifythe same or similar elements. In the following description, for purposesof explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth suchas particular structures, architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc. inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects ofvarious embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art having the benefit of the present disclosure that the variousaspects of the various embodiments may be practiced in other examplesthat depart from these specific details. In certain instances,descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted soas not to obscure the description of the various embodiments withunnecessary detail. For the purposes of the present document, the phrase“A or B” means (A), (B), or (A and B).

This disclosure relates to antenna communications from user equipment(UE) to one or more nodes of a Next Generation Radio Access Network(NG-RAN) or a 5G communication network. Based on the communicationparameters detected by the UE, the UE may activate particular antennas,antenna arrays, and/or antenna port groups to provide uplinkcommunications to the node. These antennas may be referred to as a panelor communication panel. A particular panel may be selected and/oractivated for uplink communications and/or beam forming to transmit datato a node. This disclosure may be used with 3GPP New Radio Release 16(NR Rel-16) or beyond in other work items (WI).

A UE may comprise one or multiple uplink antenna panels. Each antennapanel may be associated with one or multiple antenna ports. Differentantenna panels may target to different directions. For example, thedirections may be different from each other relative to positions on aUE. Due to this directionality and/or as a result of a UE's rotationand/or movement, a UE panel may be selected to more effectively transmituplink signals to a node. As shown in FIG. 1, the selected panel maychange from time to time. This activation and/or deactivation of a panelmay aid in more reliable communications, such as, for example, uplinkcommunications.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram 100 of UE panel selection accordingto embodiments. Block diagram 100 may include a Next Generation NodeB(gNB) 110 and UE 130. UE 130 may be in different rotations and/orlocations at different times. For example, UE 130A, 130B, and 130C mayindicate different positions and/or orientations of the UE 130 relativeto gNB 110. UE 130 may transmit transmitted uplink signal 140 to gNB 110at different times and/or positions. For example, UE 130A, 130B, 130Cmay transmit transmitted uplink signal 140A, 140B, 140C respectively.These transmitted uplink signals 140 may be received at gNB 110 asreceived uplink signals 120. For example, transmitted uplink signals140A, 140B, 140C may be received as received uplink signals 120A, 120B,120C respectively.

To save power, the UE 130 may deactivate some antenna panels. Forexample, at time T1 and T2 corresponding to UE 130A and 130Brespectively, the UE 130 may deactivate panel 2. For example,transmitted uplink signals 140A and 140B may be transmitted using panel1. At time T3, UE 130C may deactivate panel 1 and activate panel 2. UE130C may transmit transmitted uplink signal 140C using panel 2. Thepanels may be activated and/or deactivated based on a position of UE130. In some embodiments, additional processing delay may be introducedwhen UE 130 activates a panel. This activation and/or deactivation mayintroduce complexities related to maintaining a panel understandingbetween gNB 110 and UE 130. For example, when a UE 130 panel isdeactivated, additional processing delay may be introduced whenselecting another UE 130 panel.

Embodiments described herein may be directed to apparatus, systems,processes, and/or techniques to support UE panel selection with powersavings. A gNB and UE may maintain the same understanding of anactivation/deactivation status for a UE panel. In some embodiments, agNB may use control signaling to trigger an uplink signal transmissionfrom a UE panel indicating its activation/deactivation status.

Panel Status Reporting

In some embodiments, two options may exist to maintain the sameunderstanding of an activation/deactivation status for a UE panel:

Option 1: A panel can be considered as activated or deactivated based ona predefined condition.

Option 2: The UE can report the panel status to a gNB.

In some embodiments, if at least one of the following conditions istrue, the gNB can consider a UE panel as being deactivated. Otherwise,the gNB can consider the UE panel as being activated. Condition 1: Thepanel ID is not configured in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signalingor Medium Access Control Control Element (MAC CE) for an uplink channeland/or subset of uplink channels. The signals may include a PhysicalUplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) signal, a Physical Uplink Control Channel(PUCCH) signal, a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), and/or a PhysicalRandom Access Channel (PRACH) signal. Condition 2: There is no uplinksignal transmitted or scheduled from the panel within N slots and/ormilliseconds (ms) before a current slot. N can be a predefinedthreshold, configured by higher layer signaling, and/or based on UEcapability. Condition 3: There is no beam reporting instance reportedwithin N slots and/or millisecond (ms) before a current slot, where atleast one beam associated with the panel has been reported.

In some embodiments, if at least one of the following conditions istrue, the gNB can consider a UE panel as being activated. Otherwise, thegNB can consider the UE panel as being deactivated. Condition 1: Thepanel ID is configured in RRC signaling and/or MAC CE for at least oneof the uplink channels. The signals may include PUSCH, PUCCH, SRS,and/or PRACH signals. Condition 2: There is at least one instance of anuplink signal transmitted and/or scheduled from the panel within N slotsand/or milliseconds (ms) a before current slot. N can be a predefinedthreshold, configured by higher layer signaling, and/or based on UEcapability. Condition 3: There is at least one beam reporting instancereported within N slots and/or milliseconds (ms) before a current slot,where at least one beam associated with the panel is reported.

In some embodiments, the activation/deactivation status may be reportedby a UE using a PUCCH, PUSCH, and/or MAC CE.

For example, the UE can be configured to use beam reporting based onuplink beam selection. In a beam reporting instance carried by the PUCCHand/or PUSCH, the UE can report the beam quality. For example, the beamquality may be reported using a Layer 1 Reference Signal Receiving Power(L1-RSRP). The UE may also report the measured panel index and/or beamindex. Examples of these indexes may include a Synchronization SignalBlock (SSB) and/or Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS)index. A panel that has not been reported and/or has not provided areport can be considered as deactivated by the gNB.

In some embodiments, the UE can report whether a panel is activated ordeactivated. For example, the UE may report a bit map. Each bit of thebit map may be used to indicate the activation/deactivation status for aUE panel. The panel status can be reported in a periodic,semi-persistent, and/or aperiodic manner. This reporting may betriggered or configured by RRC, MAC CE, and/or Downlink ControlInformation (DCI).

In some embodiments, if a panel is activated from a deactivated state,the UE may trigger the PRACH to report a beam for this new panel. ThePRACH message may be transmitted from the corresponding panel. In someembodiments, the PRACH may be a contention based PRACH and/or acontention-free PRACH, which may be configured by higher layersignaling.

Panel Selection Delay

The minimal delay for panel selection may be determined by anactivation/deactivation status of the selected panel. A larger delay maybe expected if the selected panel is in a deactivation state.

In some embodiments, the UE can report its capability of minimal delayto activate an uplink panel. For example, the UE can report the minimalscheduling offset for a SRS, PUSCH, and/or PRACH when the trigger panelis in a deactivation state. The UE can report the minimal offset totransmit a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) bythe PUCCH when the triggered panel is in a deactivation state.

To trigger a corresponding uplink signal from a deactivated panel, thescheduling offset may be configured to exceed the threshold that the UEreported. In some embodiments, two minimal scheduling offsets may bepredefined. The first offset may be used for the uplink signal from theactivated panel. The second offset may be used for the uplink signalfrom the deactivated panel.

Note that is described herein, an antenna panel may refer to an antennaport(s) group.

Systems and Implementations

FIG. 2 illustrates an example architecture of a system 200 of a network,in accordance with various embodiments. The following description isprovided for an example system 200 that operates in conjunction with theLTE system standards and 5G or NR system standards as provided by 3GPPtechnical specifications. However, the example embodiments are notlimited in this regard and the described embodiments may apply to othernetworks that benefit from the principles described herein, such asfuture 3GPP systems (e.g., Sixth Generation (6G)) systems, IEEE 802.16protocols (e.g., WMAN, WiMAX, etc.), or the like.

As shown by FIG. 2, the system 200 includes UE 201 a and UE 201 b(collectively referred to as “UEs 201” or “UE 201”). In this example,UEs 201 are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreenmobile computing devices connectable to one or more cellular networks),but may also comprise any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such asconsumer electronics devices, cellular phones, smartphones, featurephones, tablet computers, wearable computer devices, personal digitalassistants (PDAs), pagers, wireless handsets, desktop computers, laptopcomputers, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), in-car entertainment (ICE)devices, an Instrument Cluster (IC), head-up display (HUD) devices,onboard diagnostic (OBD) devices, dashtop mobile equipment (DME), mobiledata terminals (MDTs), Electronic Engine Management System (EEMS),electronic/engine control units (ECUs), electronic/engine controlmodules (ECMs), embedded systems, microcontrollers, control modules,engine management systems (EMS), networked or “smart” appliances, MTCdevices, M2M, IoT devices, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, any of the UEs 201 may be IoT UEs, which maycomprise a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applicationsutilizing short-lived UE connections. An IoT UE can utilize technologiessuch as M2M or MTC for exchanging data with an MTC server or device viaa PLMN, ProSe or D2D communication, sensor networks, or IoT networks.The M2M or MTC exchange of data may be a machine-initiated exchange ofdata. An IoT network describes interconnecting IoT UEs, which mayinclude uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within theInternet infrastructure), with short-lived connections. The IoT UEs mayexecute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, statusupdates, etc.) to facilitate the connections of the IoT network.

The UEs 201 may be configured to connect, for example, communicativelycouple, with an or RAN 210. In embodiments, the RAN 210 may be an NG RANor a 5G RAN, an E-UTRAN, or a legacy RAN, such as a UTRAN or GERAN. Asused herein, the term “NG RAN” or the like may refer to a RAN 210 thatoperates in an NR or 5G system 200, and the term “E-UTRAN” or the likemay refer to a RAN 210 that operates in an LTE or 4G system 200. The UEs201 utilize connections (or channels) 203 and 204, respectively, each ofwhich comprises a physical communications interface or layer (discussedin further detail below).

In this example, the connections 203 and 204 are illustrated as an airinterface to enable communicative coupling, and can be consistent withcellular communications protocols, such as a GSM protocol, a CDMAnetwork protocol, a PTT protocol, a POC protocol, a UMTS protocol, a3GPP LTE protocol, a 5G protocol, a NR protocol, and/or any of the othercommunications protocols discussed herein. In embodiments, the UEs 201may directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface 205. TheProSe interface 205 may alternatively be referred to as a SL interface205 and may comprise one or more logical channels, including but notlimited to a PSCCH, a PSSCH, a PSDCH, and a PSBCH.

The UE 201 b is shown to be configured to access an AP 206 (alsoreferred to as “WLAN node 206,” “WLAN 206,” “WLAN Termination 206,” “WT206” or the like) via connection 207. The connection 207 can comprise alocal wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE802.11 protocol, wherein the AP 206 would comprise a wireless fidelity(Wi-Fi®) router. In this example, the AP 206 is shown to be connected tothe Internet without connecting to the core network of the wirelesssystem (described in further detail below). In various embodiments, theUE 201 b, RAN 210, and AP 206 may be configured to utilize LWA operationand/or LWIP operation. The LWA operation may involve the UE 201 b inRRC_CONNECTED being configured by a RAN node 211 a-b to utilize radioresources of LTE and WLAN. LWIP operation may involve the UE 201 b usingWLAN radio resources (e.g., connection 207) via IPsec protocol tunnelingto authenticate and encrypt packets (e.g., IP packets) sent over theconnection 207. IPsec tunneling may include encapsulating the entiretyof original IP packets and adding a new packet header, therebyprotecting the original header of the IP packets.

The RAN 210 can include one or more AN nodes or RAN nodes 211 a and 211b (collectively referred to as “RAN nodes 211” or “RAN node 211”) thatenable the connections 203 and 204. As used herein, the terms “accessnode,” “access point,” or the like may describe equipment that providesthe radio baseband functions for data and/or voice connectivity betweena network and one or more users. These access nodes can be referred toas BS, gNB s, RAN nodes, eNB s, NodeBs, RSUs, TRxPs or TRPs, and soforth, and can comprise ground stations (e.g., terrestrial accesspoints) or satellite stations providing coverage within a geographicarea (e.g., a cell). As used herein, the term “NG RAN node” or the likemay refer to a RAN node 211 that operates in an NR or 5G system 200 (forexample, a gNB), and the term “E-UTRAN node” or the like may refer to aRAN node 211 that operates in an LTE or 4G system 200 (e.g., an eNB).According to various embodiments, the RAN nodes 211 may be implementedas one or more of a dedicated physical device such as a macrocell basestation, and/or a low power (LP) base station for providing femtocells,picocells or other like cells having smaller coverage areas, smalleruser capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells.

In some embodiments, all or parts of the RAN nodes 211 may beimplemented as one or more software entities running on server computersas part of a virtual network, which may be referred to as a CRAN and/ora virtual baseband unit pool (vBBUP). In these embodiments, the CRAN orvBBUP may implement a RAN function split, such as a PDCP split whereinRRC and PDCP layers are operated by the CRAN/vBBUP and other L2 protocolentities are operated by individual RAN nodes 211; a MAC/PHY splitwherein RRC, PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers are operated by the CRAN/vBBUPand the PHY layer is operated by individual RAN nodes 211; or a “lowerPHY” split wherein RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC layers and upper portions of thePHY layer are operated by the CRAN/vBBUP and lower portions of the PHYlayer are operated by individual RAN nodes 211. This virtualizedframework allows the freed-up processor cores of the RAN nodes 211 toperform other virtualized applications. In some implementations, anindividual RAN node 211 may represent individual gNB-DUs that areconnected to a gNB-CU via individual F1 interfaces (not shown by FIG.2). In these implementations, the gNB-DUs may include one or more remoteradio heads or RFEMs (see, e.g., FIG. 5), and the gNB-CU may be operatedby a server that is located in the RAN 210 (not shown) or by a serverpool in a similar manner as the CRAN/vBBUP. Additionally oralternatively, one or more of the RAN nodes 211 may be next generationeNBs (ng-eNBs), which are RAN nodes that provide E-UTRA user plane andcontrol plane protocol terminations toward the UEs 201, and areconnected to a 5GC (e.g., CN 420 of FIG. 4) via an NG interface(discussed infra).

In V2X scenarios one or more of the RAN nodes 211 may be or act as RSUs.The term “Road Side Unit” or “RSU” may refer to any transportationinfrastructure entity used for V2X communications. An RSU may beimplemented in or by a suitable RAN node or a stationary (or relativelystationary) UE, where an RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referredto as a “UE-type RSU,” an RSU implemented in or by an eNB may bereferred to as an “eNB-type RSU,” an RSU implemented in or by a gNB maybe referred to as a “gNB-type RSU,” and the like. In one example, an RSUis a computing device coupled with radio frequency circuitry located ona roadside that provides connectivity support to passing vehicle UEs 201(vUEs 201). The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry tostore intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, as well asapplications/software to sense and control ongoing vehicular andpedestrian traffic. The RSU may operate on the 5.9 GHz Direct ShortRange Communications (DSRC) band to provide very low latencycommunications required for high speed events, such as crash avoidance,traffic warnings, and the like. Additionally or alternatively, the RSUmay operate on the cellular V2X band to provide the aforementioned lowlatency communications, as well as other cellular communicationsservices. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may operate as a Wi-Fihotspot (2.4 GHz band) and/or provide connectivity to one or morecellular networks to provide uplink and downlink communications. Thecomputing device(s) and some or all of the radiofrequency circuitry ofthe RSU may be packaged in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoorinstallation, and may include a network interface controller to providea wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controllerand/or a backhaul network.

Any of the RAN nodes 211 can terminate the air interface protocol andcan be the first point of contact for the UEs 201. In some embodiments,any of the RAN nodes 211 can fulfill various logical functions for theRAN 210 including, but not limited to, radio network controller (RNC)functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamicradio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobilitymanagement.

In embodiments, the UEs 201 can be configured to communicate using OFDMcommunication signals with each other or with any of the RAN nodes 211over a multicarrier communication channel in accordance with variouscommunication techniques, such as, but not limited to, an OFDMAcommunication technique (e.g., for downlink communications) or a SC-FDMAcommunication technique (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelinkcommunications), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited inthis respect. The OFDM signals can comprise a plurality of orthogonalsubcarriers.

In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid can be used for downlinktransmissions from any of the RAN nodes 211 to the UEs 201, while uplinktransmissions can utilize similar techniques. The grid can be atime-frequency grid, called a resource grid or time-frequency resourcegrid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in each slot. Sucha time-frequency plane representation is a common practice for OFDMsystems, which makes it intuitive for radio resource allocation. Eachcolumn and each row of the resource grid corresponds to one OFDM symboland one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource gridin the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radio frame. Thesmallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted as a resourceelement. Each resource grid comprises a number of resource blocks, whichdescribe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements.Each resource block comprises a collection of resource elements; in thefrequency domain, this may represent the smallest quantity of resourcesthat currently can be allocated. There are several different physicaldownlink channels that are conveyed using such resource blocks.

According to various embodiments, the UEs 201, 202 and the RAN nodes211, 212 communicate data (for example, transmit and receive) data overa licensed medium (also referred to as the “licensed spectrum” and/orthe “licensed band”) and an unlicensed shared medium (also referred toas the “unlicensed spectrum” and/or the “unlicensed band”). The licensedspectrum may include channels that operate in the frequency range ofapproximately 400 MHz to approximately 3.8 GHz, whereas the unlicensedspectrum may include the 5 GHz band.

To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, the UEs 201, 202 and the RANnodes 211, 212 may operate using LAA, eLAA, and/or feLAA mechanisms. Inthese implementations, the UEs 201, 202 and the RAN nodes 211, 212 mayperform one or more known medium-sensing operations and/orcarrier-sensing operations in order to determine whether one or morechannels in the unlicensed spectrum is unavailable or otherwise occupiedprior to transmitting in the unlicensed spectrum. The medium/carriersensing operations may be performed according to a listen-before-talk(LBT) protocol.

LBT is a mechanism whereby equipment (for example, UEs 201, 202, RANnodes 211, 212, etc.) senses a medium (for example, a channel or carrierfrequency) and transmits when the medium is sensed to be idle (or when aspecific channel in the medium is sensed to be unoccupied). The mediumsensing operation may include CCA, which utilizes at least ED todetermine the presence or absence of other signals on a channel in orderto determine if a channel is occupied or clear. This LBT mechanismallows cellular/LAA networks to coexist with incumbent systems in theunlicensed spectrum and with other LAA networks. ED may include sensingRF energy across an intended transmission band for a period of time andcomparing the sensed RF energy to a predefined or configured threshold.

Typically, the incumbent systems in the 5 GHz band are WLANs based onIEEE 802.11 technologies. WLAN employs a contention-based channel accessmechanism, called CSMA/CA. Here, when a WLAN node (e.g., a mobilestation (MS) such as UE 201 or 202, AP 206, or the like) intends totransmit, the WLAN node may first perform CCA before transmission.Additionally, a backoff mechanism is used to avoid collisions insituations where more than one WLAN node senses the channel as idle andtransmits at the same time. The backoff mechanism may be a counter thatis drawn randomly within the CWS, which is increased exponentially uponthe occurrence of collision and reset to a minimum value when thetransmission succeeds. The LBT mechanism designed for LAA is somewhatsimilar to the CSMA/CA of WLAN. In some implementations, the LBTprocedure for DL or UL transmission bursts including PDSCH or PUSCHtransmissions, respectively, may have an LAA contention window that isvariable in length between X and Y ECCA slots, where X and Y are minimumand maximum values for the CWSs for LAA. In one example, the minimum CWSfor an LAA transmission may be 9 microseconds (μs); however, the size ofthe CWS and a MCOT (for example, a transmission burst) may be based ongovernmental regulatory requirements.

The LAA mechanisms are built upon CA technologies of LTE-Advancedsystems. In CA, each aggregated carrier is referred to as a CC. A CC mayhave a bandwidth of 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15 or 20 MHz and a maximum of fiveCCs can be aggregated, and therefore, a maximum aggregated bandwidth is100 MHz. In FDD systems, the number of aggregated carriers can bedifferent for DL and UL, where the number of UL CCs is equal to or lowerthan the number of DL component carriers. In some cases, individual CCscan have a different bandwidth than other CCs. In TDD systems, thenumber of CCs as well as the bandwidths of each CC is usually the samefor DL and UL.

CA also comprises individual serving cells to provide individual CCs.The coverage of the serving cells may differ, for example, because CCson different frequency bands will experience different pathloss. Aprimary service cell or PCell may provide a PCC for both UL and DL, andmay handle RRC and NAS related activities. The other serving cells arereferred to as SCells, and each SCell may provide an individual SCC forboth UL and DL. The SCCs may be added and removed as required, whilechanging the PCC may require the UE 201, 202 to undergo a handover. InLAA, eLAA, and feLAA, some or all of the SCells may operate in theunlicensed spectrum (referred to as “LAA SCells”), and the LAA SCellsare assisted by a PCell operating in the licensed spectrum. When a UE isconfigured with more than one LAA SCell, the UE may receive UL grants onthe configured LAA SCells indicating different PUSCH starting positionswithin a same subframe.

The PDSCH carries user data and higher-layer signaling to the UEs 201.The PDCCH carries information about the transport format and resourceallocations related to the PDSCH channel, among other things. It mayalso inform the UEs 201 about the transport format, resource allocation,and HARQ information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically,downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resourceblocks to the UE 201 b within a cell) may be performed at any of the RANnodes 211 based on channel quality information fed back from any of theUEs 201. The downlink resource assignment information may be sent on thePDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each of the UEs 201.

The PDCCH uses CCEs to convey the control information. Before beingmapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols may firstbe organized into quadruplets, which may then be permuted using asub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH may be transmittedusing one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE may correspond to ninesets of four physical resource elements known as REGs. Four QuadraturePhase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols may be mapped to each REG. The PDCCHcan be transmitted using one or more CCEs, depending on the size of theDCI and the channel condition. There can be four or more different PDCCHformats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregationlevel, L=1, 2, 4, or 8).

Some embodiments may use concepts for resource allocation for controlchannel information that are an extension of the above-describedconcepts. For example, some embodiments may utilize an EPDCCH that usesPDSCH resources for control information transmission. The EPDCCH may betransmitted using one or more ECCEs. Similar to above, each ECCE maycorrespond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as anEREGs. An ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs in some situations.

The RAN nodes 211 may be configured to communicate with one another viainterface 212. In embodiments where the system 200 is an LTE system(e.g., when CN 220 is an EPC 320 as in FIG. 3), the interface 212 may bean X2 interface 212. The X2 interface may be defined between two or moreRAN nodes 211 (e.g., two or more eNBs and the like) that connect to EPC220, and/or between two eNBs connecting to EPC 220. In someimplementations, the X2 interface may include an X2 user plane interface(X2-U) and an X2 control plane interface (X2-C). The X2-U may provideflow control mechanisms for user data packets transferred over the X2interface, and may be used to communicate information about the deliveryof user data between eNBs. For example, the X2-U may provide specificsequence number information for user data transferred from a MeNB to anSeNB; information about successful in sequence delivery of PDCP PDUs toa UE 201 from an SeNB for user data; information of PDCP PDUs that werenot delivered to a UE 201; information about a current minimum desiredbuffer size at the SeNB for transmitting to the UE user data; and thelike. The X2-C may provide intra-LTE access mobility functionality,including context transfers from source to target eNBs, user planetransport control, etc.; load management functionality; as well asinter-cell interference coordination functionality.

In embodiments where the system 200 is a 5G or NR system (e.g., when CN220 is an 5GC 420 as in FIG. 4), the interface 212 may be an Xninterface 212. The Xn interface is defined between two or more RAN nodes211 (e.g., two or more gNBs and the like) that connect to 5GC 220,between a RAN node 211 (e.g., a gNB) connecting to 5GC 220 and an eNB,and/or between two eNBs connecting to 5GC 220. In some implementations,the Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xncontrol plane (Xn-C) interface. The Xn-U may provide non-guaranteeddelivery of user plane PDUs and support/provide data forwarding and flowcontrol functionality. The Xn-C may provide management and errorhandling functionality, functionality to manage the Xn-C interface;mobility support for UE 201 in a connected mode (e.g., CM-CONNECTED)including functionality to manage the UE mobility for connected modebetween one or more RAN nodes 211. The mobility support may includecontext transfer from an old (source) serving RAN node 211 to new(target) serving RAN node 211; and control of user plane tunnels betweenold (source) serving RAN node 211 to new (target) serving RAN node 211.A protocol stack of the Xn-U may include a transport network layer builton Internet Protocol (IP) transport layer, and a GTP-U layer on top of aUDP and/or IP layer(s) to carry user plane PDUs. The Xn-C protocol stackmay include an application layer signaling protocol (referred to as XnApplication Protocol (Xn-AP)) and a transport network layer that isbuilt on SCTP. The SCTP may be on top of an IP layer, and may providethe guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. In the transportIP layer, point-to-point transmission is used to deliver the signalingPDUs. In other implementations, the Xn-U protocol stack and/or the Xn-Cprotocol stack may be same or similar to the user plane and/or controlplane protocol stack(s) shown and described herein.

The RAN 210 is shown to be communicatively coupled to a core network—inthis embodiment, core network (CN) 220. The CN 220 may comprise aplurality of network elements 222, which are configured to offer variousdata and telecommunications services to customers/subscribers (e.g.,users of UEs 201) who are connected to the CN 220 via the RAN 210. Thecomponents of the CN 220 may be implemented in one physical node orseparate physical nodes including components to read and executeinstructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g.,a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium). In some embodiments,NFV may be utilized to virtualize any or all of the above-describednetwork node functions via executable instructions stored in one or morecomputer-readable storage mediums (described in further detail below). Alogical instantiation of the CN 220 may be referred to as a networkslice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of the CN 220 may bereferred to as a network sub-slice. NFV architectures andinfrastructures may be used to virtualize one or more network functions,alternatively performed by proprietary hardware, onto physical resourcescomprising a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storagehardware, or switches. In other words, NFV systems can be used toexecute virtual or reconfigurable implementations of one or more EPCcomponents/functions.

Generally, the application server 230 may be an element offeringapplications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g.,UMTS PS domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). The application server 230can also be configured to support one or more communication services(e.g., VoIP sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, socialnetworking services, etc.) for the UEs 201 via the EPC 220.

In embodiments, the CN 220 may be a 5GC (referred to as “5GC 220” or thelike), and the RAN 210 may be connected with the CN 220 via an NGinterface 213. In embodiments, the NG interface 213 may be split intotwo parts, an NG user plane (NG-U) interface 214, which carries trafficdata between the RAN nodes 211 and a UPF, and the S1 control plane(NG-C) interface 215, which is a signaling interface between the RANnodes 211 and AMFs. Embodiments where the CN 220 is a 5GC 220 arediscussed in more detail with regard to FIG. 4.

In embodiments, the CN 220 may be a 5G CN (referred to as “5GC 220” orthe like), while in other embodiments, the CN 220 may be an EPC). WhereCN 220 is an EPC (referred to as “EPC 220” or the like), the RAN 210 maybe connected with the CN 220 via an S1 interface 213. In embodiments,the S1 interface 213 may be split into two parts, an S1 user plane(S1-U) interface 214, which carries traffic data between the RAN nodes211 and the S-GW, and the S1-MME interface 215, which is a signalinginterface between the RAN nodes 211 and MMEs. An example architecturewherein the CN 220 is an EPC 220 is shown by FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example architecture of a system 300 including afirst CN 320, in accordance with various embodiments. In this example,system 300 may implement the LTE standard wherein the CN 320 is an EPC320 that corresponds with CN 220 of FIG. 2. Additionally, the UE 301 maybe the same or similar as the UEs 201 of FIG. 2, and the E-UTRAN 310 maybe a RAN that is the same or similar to the RAN 210 of FIG. 2, and whichmay include RAN nodes 211 discussed previously. The CN 320 may compriseMMEs 321, an S-GW 322, a P-GW 323, a HSS 324, and a SGSN 325.

The MMEs 321 may be similar in function to the control plane of legacySGSN, and may implement MM functions to keep track of the currentlocation of a UE 301. The MMEs 321 may perform various MM procedures tomanage mobility aspects in access such as gateway selection and trackingarea list management. MM (also referred to as “EPS MM” or “EMM” inE-UTRAN systems) may refer to all applicable procedures, methods, datastorage, etc. that are used to maintain knowledge about a presentlocation of the UE 301, provide user identity confidentiality, and/orperform other like services to users/subscribers. Each UE 301 and theMME 321 may include an MM or EMM sublayer, and an MM context may beestablished in the UE 301 and the MME 321 when an attach procedure issuccessfully completed. The MM context may be a data structure ordatabase object that stores MM-related information of the UE 301. TheMMEs 321 may be coupled with the HSS 324 via an S6a reference point,coupled with the SGSN 325 via an S3 reference point, and coupled withthe S-GW 322 via an S11 reference point.

The SGSN 325 may be a node that serves the UE 301 by tracking thelocation of an individual UE 301 and performing security functions. Inaddition, the SGSN 325 may perform Inter-EPC node signaling for mobilitybetween 2G/3G and E-UTRAN 3GPP access networks; PDN and S-GW selectionas specified by the MMEs 321; handling of UE 301 time zone functions asspecified by the MMEs 321; and MME selection for handovers to E-UTRAN3GPP access network. The S3 reference point between the MMEs 321 and theSGSN 325 may enable user and bearer information exchange for inter-3GPPaccess network mobility in idle and/or active states.

The HSS 324 may comprise a database for network users, includingsubscription-related information to support the network entities'handling of communication sessions. The EPC 320 may comprise one orseveral HSSs 324, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, on thecapacity of the equipment, on the organization of the network, etc. Forexample, the HSS 324 can provide support for routing/roaming,authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, locationdependencies, etc. An S6a reference point between the HSS 324 and theMMEs 321 may enable transfer of subscription and authentication data forauthenticating/authorizing user access to the EPC 320 between HSS 324and the MMEs 321.

The S-GW 322 may terminate the S1 interface 213 (“S1-U” in FIG. 3)toward the RAN 310, and routes data packets between the RAN 310 and theEPC 320. In addition, the S-GW 322 may be a local mobility anchor pointfor inter-RAN node handovers and also may provide an anchor forinter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawfulintercept, charging, and some policy enforcement. The S11 referencepoint between the S-GW 322 and the MMEs 321 may provide a control planebetween the MMEs 321 and the S-GW 322. The S-GW 322 may be coupled withthe P-GW 323 via an S5 reference point.

The P-GW 323 may terminate an SGi interface toward a PDN 330. The P-GW323 may route data packets between the EPC 320 and external networkssuch as a network including the application server 230 (alternativelyreferred to as an “AF”) via an IP interface 225 (see e.g., FIG. 2). Inembodiments, the P-GW 323 may be communicatively coupled to anapplication server (application server 230 of FIG. 2 or PDN 330 in FIG.3) via an IP communications interface 225 (see, e.g., FIG. 2). The S5reference point between the P-GW 323 and the S-GW 322 may provide userplane tunneling and tunnel management between the P-GW 323 and the S-GW322. The S5 reference point may also be used for S-GW 322 relocation dueto UE 301 mobility and if the S-GW 322 needs to connect to anon-collocated P-GW 323 for the required PDN connectivity. The P-GW 323may further include a node for policy enforcement and charging datacollection (e.g., PCEF (not shown)). Additionally, the SGi referencepoint between the P-GW 323 and the packet data network (PDN) 330 may bean operator external public, a private PDN, or an intra operator packetdata network, for example, for provision of IMS services. The P-GW 323may be coupled with a PCRF 326 via a Gx reference point.

PCRF 326 is the policy and charging control element of the EPC 320. In anon-roaming scenario, there may be a single PCRF 326 in the Home PublicLand Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with a UE 301's Internet ProtocolConnectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario withlocal breakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with a UE301's IP-CAN session, a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within an HPLMN and a VisitedPCRF (V-PCRF) within a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). ThePCRF 326 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 330via the P-GW 323. The application server 330 may signal the PCRF 326 toindicate a new service flow and select the appropriate QoS and chargingparameters. The PCRF 326 may provision this rule into a PCEF (not shown)with the appropriate TFT and QCI, which commences the QoS and chargingas specified by the application server 330. The Gx reference pointbetween the PCRF 326 and the P-GW 323 may allow for the transfer of QoSpolicy and charging rules from the PCRF 326 to PCEF in the P-GW 323. AnRx reference point may reside between the PDN 330 (or “AF 330”) and thePCRF 326.

FIG. 4 illustrates an architecture of a system 400 including a second CN420 in accordance with various embodiments. The system 400 is shown toinclude a UE 401, which may be the same or similar to the UEs 201 and UE301 discussed previously; a (R)AN 410, which may be the same or similarto the RAN 210 and RAN 310 discussed previously, and which may includeRAN nodes 211 discussed previously; and a DN 403, which may be, forexample, operator services, Internet access or 3rd party services; and a5GC 420. The 5GC 420 may include an AUSF 422; an AMF 421; a SMF 424; aNEF 423; a PCF 426; a NRF 425; a UDM 427; an AF 428; a UPF 402; and aNSSF 429.

The UPF 402 may act as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RATmobility, an external PDU session point of interconnect to DN 403, and abranching point to support multi-homed PDU session. The UPF 402 may alsoperform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection,enforce the user plane part of policy rules, lawfully intercept packets(UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform QoS handlingfor a user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL/DL rateenforcement), perform Uplink Traffic verification (e.g., SDF to QoS flowmapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, andperform downlink packet buffering and downlink data notificationtriggering. UPF 402 may include an uplink classifier to support routingtraffic flows to a data network. The DN 403 may represent variousnetwork operator services, Internet access, or third party services. DN403 may include, or be similar to, application server 230 discussedpreviously. The UPF 402 may interact with the SMF 424 via an N4reference point between the SMF 424 and the UPF 402.

The AUSF 422 may store data for authentication of UE 401 and handleauthentication-related functionality. The AUSF 422 may facilitate acommon authentication framework for various access types. The AUSF 422may communicate with the AMF 421 via an N12 reference point between theAMF 421 and the AUSF 422; and may communicate with the UDM 427 via anN13 reference point between the UDM 427 and the AUSF 422. Additionally,the AUSF 422 may exhibit an Nausf service-based interface.

The AMF 421 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., forregistering UE 401, etc.), connection management, reachabilitymanagement, mobility management, and lawful interception of AMF-relatedevents, and access authentication and authorization. The AMF 421 may bea termination point for the an N11 reference point between the AMF 421and the SMF 424. The AMF 421 may provide transport for SM messagesbetween the UE 401 and the SMF 424, and act as a transparent proxy forrouting SM messages. AMF 421 may also provide transport for SMS messagesbetween UE 401 and an SMSF (not shown by FIG. 4). AMF 421 may act asSEAF, which may include interaction with the AUSF 422 and the UE 401,receipt of an intermediate key that was established as a result of theUE 401 authentication process. Where USIM based authentication is used,the AMF 421 may retrieve the security material from the AUSF 422. AMF421 may also include a SCM function, which receives a key from the SEAthat it uses to derive access-network specific keys. Furthermore, AMF421 may be a termination point of a RAN CP interface, which may includeor be an N2 reference point between the (R)AN 410 and the AMF 421; andthe AMF 421 may be a termination point of NAS (N1) signalling, andperform NAS ciphering and integrity protection.

AMF 421 may also support NAS signalling with a UE 401 over an N3 IWFinterface. The N3IWF may be used to provide access to untrustedentities. N3IWF may be a termination point for the N2 interface betweenthe (R)AN 410 and the AMF 421 for the control plane, and may be atermination point for the N3 reference point between the (R)AN 410 andthe UPF 402 for the user plane. As such, the AMF 421 may handle N2signalling from the SMF 424 and the AMF 421 for PDU sessions and QoS,encapsulate/de-encapsulate packets for IPSec and N3 tunnelling, mark N3user-plane packets in the uplink, and enforce QoS corresponding to N3packet marking taking into account QoS requirements associated with suchmarking received over N2. N3IWF may also relay uplink and downlinkcontrol-plane NAS signalling between the UE 401 and AMF 421 via an N1reference point between the UE 401 and the AMF 421, and relay uplink anddownlink user-plane packets between the UE 401 and UPF 402. The N3IWFalso provides mechanisms for IPsec tunnel establishment with the UE 401.The AMF 421 may exhibit an Namf service-based interface, and may be atermination point for an N14 reference point between two AMFs 421 and anN17 reference point between the AMF 421 and a 5G-EIR (not shown by FIG.4).

The UE 401 may need to register with the AMF 421 in order to receivenetwork services. RM is used to register or deregister the UE 401 withthe network (e.g., AMF 421), and establish a UE context in the network(e.g., AMF 421). The UE 401 may operate in an RM-REGISTERED state or anRM-DEREGISTERED state. In the RM DEREGISTERED state, the UE 401 is notregistered with the network, and the UE context in AMF 421 holds novalid location or routing information for the UE 401 so the UE 401 isnot reachable by the AMF 421. In the RM REGISTERED state, the UE 401 isregistered with the network, and the UE context in AMF 421 may hold avalid location or routing information for the UE 401 so the UE 401 isreachable by the AMF 421. In the RM-REGISTERED state, the UE 401 mayperform mobility Registration Update procedures, perform periodicRegistration Update procedures triggered by expiration of the periodicupdate timer (e.g., to notify the network that the UE 401 is stillactive), and perform a Registration Update procedure to update UEcapability information or to re-negotiate protocol parameters with thenetwork, among others.

The AMF 421 may store one or more RM contexts for the UE 401, where eachRM context is associated with a specific access to the network. The RMcontext may be a data structure, database object, etc. that indicates orstores, inter alia, a registration state per access type and theperiodic update timer. The AMF 421 may also store a 5GC MM context thatmay be the same or similar to the (E)MM context discussed previously. Invarious embodiments, the AMF 421 may store a CE mode B Restrictionparameter of the UE 401 in an associated MM context or RM context. TheAMF 421 may also derive the value, when needed, from the UE's usagesetting parameter already stored in the UE context (and/or MM/RMcontext).

CM may be used to establish and release a signaling connection betweenthe UE 401 and the AMF 421 over the N1 interface. The signalingconnection is used to enable NAS signaling exchange between the UE 401and the CN 420, and comprises both the signaling connection between theUE and the AN (e.g., RRC connection or UE-N3IWF connection for non-3GPPaccess) and the N2 connection for the UE 401 between the AN (e.g., RAN410) and the AMF 421. The UE 401 may operate in one of two CM states,CM-IDLE mode or CM-CONNECTED mode. When the UE 401 is operating in theCM-IDLE state/mode, the UE 401 may have no NAS signaling connectionestablished with the AMF 421 over the N1 interface, and there may be(R)AN 410 signaling connection (e.g., N2 and/or N3 connections) for theUE 401. When the UE 401 is operating in the CM-CONNECTED state/mode, theUE 401 may have an established NAS signaling connection with the AMF 421over the N1 interface, and there may be a (R)AN 410 signaling connection(e.g., N2 and/or N3 connections) for the UE 401. Establishment of an N2connection between the (R)AN 410 and the AMF 421 may cause the UE 401 totransition from CM-IDLE mode to CM-CONNECTED mode, and the UE 401 maytransition from the CM-CONNECTED mode to the CM-IDLE mode when N2signaling between the (R)AN 410 and the AMF 421 is released.

The SMF 424 may be responsible for SM (e.g., session establishment,modify and release, including tunnel maintain between UPF and AN node);UE IP address allocation and management (including optionalauthorization); selection and control of UP function; configuringtraffic steering at UPF to route traffic to proper destination;termination of interfaces toward policy control functions; controllingpart of policy enforcement and QoS; lawful intercept (for SM events andinterface to LI system); termination of SM parts of NAS messages;downlink data notification; initiating AN specific SM information, sentvia AMF over N2 to AN; and determining SSC mode of a session. SM mayrefer to management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or “session” mayrefer to a PDU connectivity service that provides or enables theexchange of PDUs between a UE 401 and a data network (DN) 403 identifiedby a Data Network Name (DNN). PDU sessions may be established upon UE401 request, modified upon UE 401 and 5GC 420 request, and released uponUE 401 and 5GC 420 request using NAS SM signaling exchanged over the N1reference point between the UE 401 and the SMF 424. Upon request from anapplication server, the 5GC 420 may trigger a specific application inthe UE 401. In response to receipt of the trigger message, the UE 401may pass the trigger message (or relevant parts/information of thetrigger message) to one or more identified applications in the UE 401.The identified application(s) in the UE 401 may establish a PDU sessionto a specific DNN. The SMF 424 may check whether the UE 401 requests arecompliant with user subscription information associated with the UE 401.In this regard, the SMF 424 may retrieve and/or request to receiveupdate notifications on SMF 424 level subscription data from the UDM427.

The SMF 424 may include the following roaming functionality: handlinglocal enforcement to apply QoS SLAB (VPLMN); charging data collectionand charging interface (VPLMN); lawful intercept (in VPLMN for SM eventsand interface to LI system); and support for interaction with externalDN for transport of signalling for PDU sessionauthorization/authentication by external DN. An N16 reference pointbetween two SMFs 424 may be included in the system 400, which may bebetween another SMF 424 in a visited network and the SMF 424 in the homenetwork in roaming scenarios. Additionally, the SMF 424 may exhibit theNsmf service-based interface.

The NEF 423 may provide means for securely exposing the services andcapabilities provided by 3GPP network functions for third party,internal exposure/re-exposure, Application Functions (e.g., AF 428),edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such embodiments, theNEF 423 may authenticate, authorize, and/or throttle the AFs. NEF 423may also translate information exchanged with the AF 428 and informationexchanged with internal network functions. For example, the NEF 423 maytranslate between an AF-Service-Identifier and an internal 5GCinformation. NEF 423 may also receive information from other networkfunctions (NFs) based on exposed capabilities of other networkfunctions. This information may be stored at the NEF 423 as structureddata, or at a data storage NF using standardized interfaces. The storedinformation can then be re-exposed by the NEF 423 to other NFs and AFs,and/or used for other purposes such as analytics. Additionally, the NEF423 may exhibit an Nnef service-based interface.

The NRF 425 may support service discovery functions, receive NFdiscovery requests from NF instances, and provide the information of thediscovered NF instances to the NF instances. NRF 425 also maintainsinformation of available NF instances and their supported services. Asused herein, the terms “instantiate,” “instantiation,” and the like mayrefer to the creation of an instance, and an “instance” may refer to aconcrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, duringexecution of program code. Additionally, the NRF 425 may exhibit theNnrf service-based interface.

The PCF 426 may provide policy rules to control plane function(s) toenforce them, and may also support unified policy framework to governnetwork behaviour. The PCF 426 may also implement an FE to accesssubscription information relevant for policy decisions in a UDR of theUDM 427. The PCF 426 may communicate with the AMF 421 via an N15reference point between the PCF 426 and the AMF 421, which may include aPCF 426 in a visited network and the AMF 421 in case of roamingscenarios. The PCF 426 may communicate with the AF 428 via an N5reference point between the PCF 426 and the AF 428; and with the SMF 424via an N7 reference point between the PCF 426 and the SMF 424. Thesystem 400 and/or CN 420 may also include an N24 reference point betweenthe PCF 426 (in the home network) and a PCF 426 in a visited network.Additionally, the PCF 426 may exhibit an Npcf service-based interface.

The UDM 427 may handle subscription-related information to support thenetwork entities' handling of communication sessions, and may storesubscription data of UE 401. For example, subscription data may becommunicated between the UDM 427 and the AMF 421 via an N8 referencepoint between the UDM 427 and the AMF. The UDM 427 may include twoparts, an application FE and a UDR (the FE and UDR are not shown by FIG.4). The UDR may store subscription data and policy data for the UDM 427and the PCF 426, and/or structured data for exposure and applicationdata (including PFDs for application detection, application requestinformation for multiple UEs 401) for the NEF 423. The Nudrservice-based interface may be exhibited by the UDR 221 to allow the UDM427, PCF 426, and NEF 423 to access a particular set of the stored data,as well as to read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and subscribe tonotification of relevant data changes in the UDR. The UDM may include aUDM-FE, which is in charge of processing credentials, locationmanagement, subscription management and so on. Several different frontends may serve the same user in different transactions. The UDM-FEaccesses subscription information stored in the UDR and performsauthentication credential processing, user identification handling,access authorization, registration/mobility management, and subscriptionmanagement. The UDR may interact with the SMF 424 via an N10 referencepoint between the UDM 427 and the SMF 424. UDM 427 may also support SMSmanagement, wherein an SMS-FE implements the similar application logicas discussed previously. Additionally, the UDM 427 may exhibit the Nudmservice-based interface.

The AF 428 may provide application influence on traffic routing, provideaccess to the NCE, and interact with the policy framework for policycontrol. The NCE may be a mechanism that allows the 5GC 420 and AF 428to provide information to each other via NEF 423, which may be used foredge computing implementations. In such implementations, the networkoperator and third party services may be hosted close to the UE 401access point of attachment to achieve an efficient service deliverythrough the reduced end-to-end latency and load on the transportnetwork. For edge computing implementations, the 5GC may select a UPF402 close to the UE 401 and execute traffic steering from the UPF 402 toDN 403 via the N6 interface. This may be based on the UE subscriptiondata, UE location, and information provided by the AF 428. In this way,the AF 428 may influence UPF (re)selection and traffic routing. Based onoperator deployment, when AF 428 is considered to be a trusted entity,the network operator may permit AF 428 to interact directly withrelevant NFs. Additionally, the AF 428 may exhibit an Naf service-basedinterface.

The NSSF 429 may select a set of network slice instances serving the UE401. The NSSF 429 may also determine allowed NSSAI and the mapping tothe subscribed S-NSSAIs, if needed. The NSSF 429 may also determine theAMF set to be used to serve the UE 401, or a list of candidate AMF(s)421 based on a suitable configuration and possibly by querying the NRF425. The selection of a set of network slice instances for the UE 401may be triggered by the AMF 421 with which the UE 401 is registered byinteracting with the NSSF 429, which may lead to a change of AMF 421.The NSSF 429 may interact with the AMF 421 via an N22 reference pointbetween AMF 421 and NSSF 429; and may communicate with another NSSF 429in a visited network via an N31 reference point (not shown by FIG. 4).Additionally, the NSSF 429 may exhibit an Nnssf service-based interface.

As discussed previously, the CN 420 may include an SMSF, which may beresponsible for SMS subscription checking and verification, and relayingSM messages to/from the UE 401 to/from other entities, such as anSMS-GMSC/IWMSC/SMS-router. The SMS may also interact with AMF 421 andUDM 427 for a notification procedure that the UE 401 is available forSMS transfer (e.g., set a UE not reachable flag, and notifying UDM 427when UE 401 is available for SMS).

The CN 120 may also include other elements that are not shown by FIG. 4,such as a Data Storage system/architecture, a 5G-EIR, a SEPP, and thelike. The Data Storage system may include a SDSF, an UDSF, and/or thelike. Any NF may store and retrieve unstructured data into/from the UDSF(e.g., UE contexts), via N18 reference point between any NF and the UDSF(not shown by FIG. 4). Individual NFs may share a UDSF for storing theirrespective unstructured data or individual NFs may each have their ownUDSF located at or near the individual NFs. Additionally, the UDSF mayexhibit an Nudsf service-based interface (not shown by FIG. 4). The5G-EIR may be an NF that checks the status of PEI for determiningwhether particular equipment/entities are blacklisted from the network;and the SEPP may be a non-transparent proxy that performs topologyhiding, message filtering, and policing on inter-PLMN control planeinterfaces.

Additionally, there may be many more reference points and/orservice-based interfaces between the NF services in the NFs; however,these interfaces and reference points have been omitted from FIG. 4 forclarity. In one example, the CN 420 may include an Nx interface, whichis an inter-CN interface between the MME (e.g., MME 321) and the AMF 421in order to enable interworking between CN 420 and CN 320. Other exampleinterfaces/reference points may include an N5g-EIR service-basedinterface exhibited by a 5G-EIR, an N27 reference point between the NRFin the visited network and the NRF in the home network; and an N31reference point between the NSSF in the visited network and the NSSF inthe home network.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of infrastructure equipment 500 inaccordance with various embodiments. The infrastructure equipment 500(or “system 500”) may be implemented as a base station, radio head, RANnode such as the RAN nodes 211 and/or AP 206 shown and describedpreviously, application server(s) 230, and/or any other element/devicediscussed herein. In other examples, the system 500 could be implementedin or by a UE.

The system 500 includes application circuitry 505, baseband circuitry510, one or more radio front end modules (RFEMs) 515, memory circuitry520, power management integrated circuitry (PMIC) 525, power teecircuitry 530, network controller circuitry 535, network interfaceconnector 540, satellite positioning circuitry 545, and user interface550. In some embodiments, the device 500 may include additional elementssuch as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, orinput/output (I/O) interface. In other embodiments, the componentsdescribed below may be included in more than one device. For example,said circuitries may be separately included in more than one device forCRAN, vBBU, or other like implementations.

Application circuitry 505 includes circuitry such as, but not limited toone or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one ormore of low drop-out voltage regulators (LDOs), interrupt controllers,serial interfaces such as SPI, I2C or universal programmable serialinterface module, real time clock (RTC), timer-counters includinginterval and watchdog timers, general purpose input/output (I/O or IO),memory card controllers such as Secure Digital (SD) MultiMediaCard (MMC)or similar, Universal Serial Bus (USB) interfaces, Mobile IndustryProcessor Interface (MIPI) interfaces and Joint Test Access Group (JTAG)test access ports. The processors (or cores) of the applicationcircuitry 505 may be coupled with or may include memory/storage elementsand may be configured to execute instructions stored in thememory/storage to enable various applications or operating systems torun on the system 500. In some implementations, the memory/storageelements may be on-chip memory circuitry, which may include any suitablevolatile and/or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM,Flash memory, solid-state memory, and/or any other type of memory devicetechnology, such as those discussed herein.

The processor(s) of application circuitry 505 may include, for example,one or more processor cores (CPUs), one or more application processors,one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more reducedinstruction set computing (RISC) processors, one or more Acorn RISCMachine (ARM) processors, one or more complex instruction set computing(CISC) processors, one or more digital signal processors (DSP), one ormore FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or moremicroprocessors or controllers, or any suitable combination thereof. Insome embodiments, the application circuitry 505 may comprise, or may be,a special-purpose processor/controller to operate according to thevarious embodiments herein. As examples, the processor(s) of applicationcircuitry 505 may include one or more Intel Pentium®, Core®, or Xeon®processor(s); Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Ryzen® processor(s),Accelerated Processing Units (APUs), or Epyc® processors; ARM-basedprocessor(s) licensed from ARM Holdings, Ltd. such as the ARM Cortex-Afamily of processors and the ThunderX2® provided by Cavium™, Inc.; aMIPS-based design from MIPS Technologies, Inc. such as MIPS WarriorP-class processors; and/or the like. In some embodiments, the system 500may not utilize application circuitry 505, and instead may include aspecial-purpose processor/controller to process IP data received from anEPC or 5GC, for example.

In some implementations, the application circuitry 505 may include oneor more hardware accelerators, which may be microprocessors,programmable processing devices, or the like. The one or more hardwareaccelerators may include, for example, computer vision (CV) and/or deeplearning (DL) accelerators. As examples, the programmable processingdevices may be one or more a field-programmable devices (FPDs) such asfield-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and the like; programmable logicdevices (PLDs) such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs(HCPLDs), and the like; ASICs such as structured ASICs and the like;programmable SoCs (PSoCs); and the like. In such implementations, thecircuitry of application circuitry 505 may comprise logic blocks orlogic fabric, and other interconnected resources that may be programmedto perform various functions, such as the procedures, methods,functions, etc. of the various embodiments discussed herein. In suchembodiments, the circuitry of application circuitry 505 may includememory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flashmemory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM),anti-fuses, etc.)) used to store logic blocks, logic fabric, data, etc.in look-up-tables (LUTs) and the like.

The baseband circuitry 510 may be implemented, for example, as asolder-down substrate including one or more integrated circuits, asingle packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board or amulti-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. Thevarious hardware electronic elements of baseband circuitry 510 arediscussed infra with regard to FIG. 7.

User interface circuitry 550 may include one or more user interfacesdesigned to enable user interaction with the system 500 or peripheralcomponent interfaces designed to enable peripheral component interactionwith the system 500. User interfaces may include, but are not limitedto, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), oneor more indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)), a physicalkeyboard or keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, speakers orother audio emitting devices, microphones, a printer, a scanner, aheadset, a display screen or display device, etc. Peripheral componentinterfaces may include, but are not limited to, a nonvolatile memoryport, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an audio jack, a power supplyinterface, etc.

The radio front end modules (RFEMs) 515 may comprise a millimeter wave(mmWave) RFEM and one or more sub-mmWave radio frequency integratedcircuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-mmWaveRFICs may be physically separated from the mmWave RFEM. The RFICs mayinclude connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays (see e.g.,antenna array 711 of FIG. 7 infra), and the RFEM may be connected tomultiple antennas. In alternative implementations, both mmWave andsub-mmWave radio functions may be implemented in the same physical RFEM515, which incorporates both mmWave antennas and sub-mmWave.

The memory circuitry 520 may include one or more of volatile memoryincluding dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and/or synchronous dynamicrandom access memory (SDRAM), and nonvolatile memory (NVM) includinghigh-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as Flashmemory), phase change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistiverandom access memory (MRAM), etc., and may incorporate thethree-dimensional (3D) cross-point (XPOINT) memories from Intel® andMicron®. Memory circuitry 520 may be implemented as one or more ofsolder down packaged integrated circuits, socketed memory modules andplug-in memory cards.

The PMIC 525 may include voltage regulators, surge protectors, poweralarm detection circuitry, and one or more backup power sources such asa battery or capacitor. The power alarm detection circuitry may detectone or more of brown out (under-voltage) and surge (over-voltage)conditions. The power tee circuitry 530 may provide for electrical powerdrawn from a network cable to provide both power supply and dataconnectivity to the infrastructure equipment 500 using a single cable.

The network controller circuitry 535 may provide connectivity to anetwork using a standard network interface protocol such as Ethernet,Ethernet over GRE Tunnels, Ethernet over Multiprotocol Label Switching(MPLS), or some other suitable protocol. Network connectivity may beprovided to/from the infrastructure equipment 500 via network interfaceconnector 540 using a physical connection, which may be electrical(commonly referred to as a “copper interconnect”), optical, or wireless.The network controller circuitry 535 may include one or more dedicatedprocessors and/or FPGAs to communicate using one or more of theaforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the networkcontroller circuitry 535 may include multiple controllers to provideconnectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

The positioning circuitry 545 includes circuitry to receive and decodesignals transmitted/broadcasted by a positioning network of a globalnavigation satellite system (GNSS). Examples of navigation satelliteconstellations (or GNSS) include United States' Global PositioningSystem (GPS), Russia's Global Navigation System (GLONASS), the EuropeanUnion's Galileo system, China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, aregional navigation system or GNSS augmentation system (e.g., Navigationwith Indian Constellation (NAVIC), Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System(QZSS), France's Doppler Orbitography and Radio-positioning Integratedby Satellite (DORIS), etc.), or the like. The positioning circuitry 545comprises various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devicessuch as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, and the like tofacilitate OTA communications) to communicate with components of apositioning network, such as navigation satellite constellation nodes.In some embodiments, the positioning circuitry 545 may include aMicro-Technology for Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (Micro-PNT) ICthat uses a master timing clock to perform position tracking/estimationwithout GNSS assistance. The positioning circuitry 545 may also be partof, or interact with, the baseband circuitry 510 and/or RFEMs 515 tocommunicate with the nodes and components of the positioning network.The positioning circuitry 545 may also provide position data and/or timedata to the application circuitry 505, which may use the data tosynchronize operations with various infrastructure (e.g., RAN nodes 211,etc.), or the like.

The components shown by FIG. 5 may communicate with one another usinginterface circuitry, which may include any number of bus and/orinterconnect (IX) technologies such as industry standard architecture(ISA), extended ISA (EISA), peripheral component interconnect (PCI),peripheral component interconnect extended (PCIx), PCI express (PCIe),or any number of other technologies. The bus/IX may be a proprietarybus, for example, used in a SoC based system. Other bus/IX systems maybe included, such as an I2C interface, an SPI interface, point to pointinterfaces, and a power bus, among others.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a platform 600 (or “device 600”) inaccordance with various embodiments. In embodiments, the computerplatform 600 may be suitable for use as UEs 201, 202, 301, applicationservers 230, and/or any other element/device discussed herein. Theplatform 600 may include any combinations of the components shown in theexample. The components of platform 600 may be implemented as integratedcircuits (ICs), portions thereof, discrete electronic devices, or othermodules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereofadapted in the computer platform 600, or as components otherwiseincorporated within a chassis of a larger system. The block diagram ofFIG. 6 is intended to show a high level view of components of thecomputer platform 600. However, some of the components shown may beomitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangementof the components shown may occur in other implementations.

Application circuitry 605 includes circuitry such as, but not limited toone or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one ormore of LDOs, interrupt controllers, serial interfaces such as SPI, I2Cor universal programmable serial interface module, RTC, timer-countersincluding interval and watchdog timers, general purpose I/O, memory cardcontrollers such as SD MMC or similar, USB interfaces, MIPI interfaces,and JTAG test access ports. The processors (or cores) of the applicationcircuitry 605 may be coupled with or may include memory/storage elementsand may be configured to execute instructions stored in thememory/storage to enable various applications or operating systems torun on the system 600. In some implementations, the memory/storageelements may be on-chip memory circuitry, which may include any suitablevolatile and/or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM,Flash memory, solid-state memory, and/or any other type of memory devicetechnology, such as those discussed herein.

The processor(s) of application circuitry 505 may include, for example,one or more processor cores, one or more application processors, one ormore GPUs, one or more RISC processors, one or more ARM processors, oneor more CISC processors, one or more DSP, one or more FPGAs, one or morePLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, amultithreaded processor, an ultra-low voltage processor, an embeddedprocessor, some other known processing element, or any suitablecombination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuitry 505may comprise, or may be, a special-purpose processor/controller tooperate according to the various embodiments herein.

As examples, the processor(s) of application circuitry 605 may includean Intel® Architecture Core™ based processor, such as a Quark™, anAtom™, an i3, an i5, an i7, or an MCU-class processor, or another suchprocessor available from Intel® Corporation, Santa Clara, Calif. Theprocessors of the application circuitry 605 may also be one or more ofAdvanced Micro Devices (AMD) Ryzen® processor(s) or AcceleratedProcessing Units (APUs); A5-A9 processor(s) from Apple® Inc.,Snapdragon™ processor(s) from Qualcomm® Technologies, Inc., TexasInstruments, Inc.® Open Multimedia Applications Platform (OMAP)™processor(s); a MIPS-based design from MIPS Technologies, Inc. such asMIPS Warrior M-class, Warrior I-class, and Warrior P-class processors;an ARM-based design licensed from ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARMCortex-A, Cortex-R, and Cortex-M family of processors; or the like. Insome implementations, the application circuitry 605 may be a part of asystem on a chip (SoC) in which the application circuitry 605 and othercomponents are formed into a single integrated circuit, or a singlepackage, such as the Edison™ or Galileo™ SoC boards from Intel®Corporation.

Additionally or alternatively, application circuitry 605 may includecircuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more a field-programmabledevices (FPDs) such as FPGAs and the like; programmable logic devices(PLDs) such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), andthe like; ASICs such as structured ASICs and the like; programmable SoCs(PSoCs); and the like. In such embodiments, the circuitry of applicationcircuitry 605 may comprise logic blocks or logic fabric, and otherinterconnected resources that may be programmed to perform variousfunctions, such as the procedures, methods, functions, etc. of thevarious embodiments discussed herein. In such embodiments, the circuitryof application circuitry 605 may include memory cells (e.g., erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory(e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), anti-fuses, etc.)) used tostore logic blocks, logic fabric, data, etc. in look-up tables (LUTs)and the like.

The baseband circuitry 610 may be implemented, for example, as asolder-down substrate including one or more integrated circuits, asingle packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board or amulti-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. Thevarious hardware electronic elements of baseband circuitry 610 arediscussed infra with regard to FIG. 7.

The RFEMs 615 may comprise a millimeter wave (mmWave) RFEM and one ormore sub-mmWave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In someimplementations, the one or more sub-mmWave RFICs may be physicallyseparated from the mmWave RFEM. The RFICs may include connections to oneor more antennas or antenna arrays (see e.g., antenna array 711 of FIG.7 infra), and the RFEM may be connected to multiple antennas. Inalternative implementations, both mmWave and sub-mmWave radio functionsmay be implemented in the same physical RFEM 615, which incorporatesboth mmWave antennas and sub-mmWave.

The memory circuitry 620 may include any number and type of memorydevices used to provide for a given amount of system memory. Asexamples, the memory circuitry 620 may include one or more of volatilememory including random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM) and/orsynchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), and nonvolatile memory (NVM) includinghigh-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as Flashmemory), phase change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistiverandom access memory (MRAM), etc. The memory circuitry 620 may bedeveloped in accordance with a Joint Electron Devices EngineeringCouncil (JEDEC) low power double data rate (LPDDR)-based design, such asLPDDR2, LPDDR3, LPDDR4, or the like. Memory circuitry 620 may beimplemented as one or more of solder down packaged integrated circuits,single die package (SDP), dual die package (DDP) or quad die package(Q17P), socketed memory modules, dual inline memory modules (DIMMs)including microDIMMs or MiniDIMMs, and/or soldered onto a motherboardvia a ball grid array (BGA). In low power implementations, the memorycircuitry 620 may be on-die memory or registers associated with theapplication circuitry 605. To provide for persistent storage ofinformation such as data, applications, operating systems and so forth,memory circuitry 620 may include one or more mass storage devices, whichmay include, inter alia, a solid state disk drive (SSDD), hard diskdrive (HDD), a micro HDD, resistance change memories, phase changememories, holographic memories, or chemical memories, among others. Forexample, the computer platform 600 may incorporate the three-dimensional(3D) cross-point (XPOINT) memories from Intel® and Micron®.

Removable memory circuitry 623 may include devices, circuitry,enclosures/housings, ports or receptacles, etc. used to couple portabledata storage devices with the platform 600. These portable data storagedevices may be used for mass storage purposes, and may include, forexample, flash memory cards (e.g., Secure Digital (SD) cards, microSDcards, xD picture cards, and the like), and USB flash drives, opticaldiscs, external HDDs, and the like.

The platform 600 may also include interface circuitry (not shown) thatis used to connect external devices with the platform 600. The externaldevices connected to the platform 600 via the interface circuitryinclude sensor circuitry 621 and electro-mechanical components (EMCs)622, as well as removable memory devices coupled to removable memorycircuitry 623.

The sensor circuitry 621 include devices, modules, or subsystems whosepurpose is to detect events or changes in its environment and send theinformation (sensor data) about the detected events to some other adevice, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, interalia, inertia measurement units (IMUS) comprising accelerometers,gyroscopes, and/or magnetometers; microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)or nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) comprising 3-axisaccelerometers, 3-axis gyroscopes, and/or magnetometers; level sensors;flow sensors; temperature sensors (e.g., thermistors); pressure sensors;barometric pressure sensors; gravimeters; altimeters; image capturedevices (e.g., cameras or lensless apertures); light detection andranging (LiDAR) sensors; proximity sensors (e.g., infrared radiationdetector and the like), depth sensors, ambient light sensors, ultrasonictransceivers; microphones or other like audio capture devices; etc.

EMCs 622 include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is toenable platform 600 to change its state, position, and/or orientation,or move or control a mechanism or (sub)system. Additionally, EMCs 622may be configured to generate and send messages/signalling to othercomponents of the platform 600 to indicate a current state of the EMCs622. Examples of the EMCs 622 include one or more power switches, relaysincluding electromechanical relays (EMRs) and/or solid state relays(SSRs), actuators (e.g., valve actuators, etc.), an audible soundgenerator, a visual warning device, motors (e.g., DC motors, steppermotors, etc.), wheels, thrusters, propellers, claws, clamps, hooks,and/or other like electro-mechanical components. In embodiments,platform 600 is configured to operate one or more EMCs 622 based on oneor more captured events and/or instructions or control signals receivedfrom a service provider and/or various clients.

In some implementations, the interface circuitry may connect theplatform 600 with positioning circuitry 645. The positioning circuitry645 includes circuitry to receive and decode signalstransmitted/broadcasted by a positioning network of a GNSS. Examples ofnavigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) include United States'GPS, Russia's GLONASS, the European Union's Galileo system, China'sBeiDou Navigation Satellite System, a regional navigation system or GNSSaugmentation system (e.g., NAVIC), Japan's QZSS, France's DORIS, etc.),or the like. The positioning circuitry 645 comprises various hardwareelements (e.g., including hardware devices such as switches, filters,amplifiers, antenna elements, and the like to facilitate OTAcommunications) to communicate with components of a positioning network,such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments,the positioning circuitry 645 may include a Micro-PNT IC that uses amaster timing clock to perform position tracking/estimation without GNSSassistance. The positioning circuitry 645 may also be part of, orinteract with, the baseband circuitry 510 and/or RFEMs 615 tocommunicate with the nodes and components of the positioning network.The positioning circuitry 645 may also provide position data and/or timedata to the application circuitry 605, which may use the data tosynchronize operations with various infrastructure (e.g., radio basestations), for turn-by-turn navigation applications, or the like

In some implementations, the interface circuitry may connect theplatform 600 with Near-Field Communication (NFC) circuitry 640. NFCcircuitry 640 is configured to provide contactless, short-rangecommunications based on radio frequency identification (RFID) standards,wherein magnetic field induction is used to enable communication betweenNFC circuitry 640 and NFC-enabled devices external to the platform 600(e.g., an “NFC touchpoint”). NFC circuitry 640 comprises an NFCcontroller coupled with an antenna element and a processor coupled withthe NFC controller. The NFC controller may be a chip/IC providing NFCfunctionalities to the NFC circuitry 640 by executing NFC controllerfirmware and an NFC stack. The NFC stack may be executed by theprocessor to control the NFC controller, and the NFC controller firmwaremay be executed by the NFC controller to control the antenna element toemit short-range RF signals. The RF signals may power a passive NFC tag(e.g., a microchip embedded in a sticker or wristband) to transmitstored data to the NFC circuitry 640, or initiate data transfer betweenthe NFC circuitry 640 and another active NFC device (e.g., a smartphoneor an NFC-enabled POS terminal) that is proximate to the platform 600.

The driver circuitry 646 may include software and hardware elements thatoperate to control particular devices that are embedded in the platform600, attached to the platform 600, or otherwise communicatively coupledwith the platform 600. The driver circuitry 646 may include individualdrivers allowing other components of the platform 600 to interact withor control various input/output (I/O) devices that may be presentwithin, or connected to, the platform 600. For example, driver circuitry646 may include a display driver to control and allow access to adisplay device, a touchscreen driver to control and allow access to atouchscreen interface of the platform 600, sensor drivers to obtainsensor readings of sensor circuitry 621 and control and allow access tosensor circuitry 621, EMC drivers to obtain actuator positions of theEMCs 622 and/or control and allow access to the EMCs 622, a cameradriver to control and allow access to an embedded image capture device,audio drivers to control and allow access to one or more audio devices.

The power management integrated circuitry (PMIC) 625 (also referred toas “power management circuitry 625”) may manage power provided tovarious components of the platform 600. In particular, with respect tothe baseband circuitry 610, the PMIC 625 may control power-sourceselection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DC conversion.The PMIC 625 may often be included when the platform 600 is capable ofbeing powered by a battery 630, for example, when the device is includedin a UE 201, 202, 301.

In some embodiments, the PMIC 625 may control, or otherwise be part of,various power saving mechanisms of the platform 600. For example, if theplatform 600 is in an RRC_Connected state, where it is still connectedto the RAN node as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it mayenter a state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a periodof inactivity. During this state, the platform 600 may power down forbrief intervals of time and thus save power. If there is no data trafficactivity for an extended period of time, then the platform 600 maytransition off to an RRC_Idle state, where it disconnects from thenetwork and does not perform operations such as channel qualityfeedback, handover, etc. The platform 600 goes into a very low powerstate and it performs paging where again it periodically wakes up tolisten to the network and then powers down again. The platform 600 maynot receive data in this state; in order to receive data, it musttransition back to RRC_Connected state. An additional power saving modemay allow a device to be unavailable to the network for periods longerthan a paging interval (ranging from seconds to a few hours). Duringthis time, the device is totally unreachable to the network and maypower down completely. Any data sent during this time incurs a largedelay and it is assumed the delay is acceptable.

A battery 630 may power the platform 600, although in some examples theplatform 600 may be mounted deployed in a fixed location, and may have apower supply coupled to an electrical grid. The battery 630 may be alithium ion battery, a metal-air battery, such as a zinc-air battery, analuminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, and the like. In someimplementations, such as in V2X applications, the battery 630 may be atypical lead-acid automotive battery.

In some implementations, the battery 630 may be a “smart battery,” whichincludes or is coupled with a Battery Management System (BMS) or batterymonitoring integrated circuitry. The BMS may be included in the platform600 to track the state of charge (SoCh) of the battery 630. The BMS maybe used to monitor other parameters of the battery 630 to providefailure predictions, such as the state of health (SoH) and the state offunction (SoF) of the battery 630. The BMS may communicate theinformation of the battery 630 to the application circuitry 605 or othercomponents of the platform 600. The BMS may also include ananalog-to-digital (ADC) convertor that allows the application circuitry605 to directly monitor the voltage of the battery 630 or the currentflow from the battery 630. The battery parameters may be used todetermine actions that the platform 600 may perform, such astransmission frequency, network operation, sensing frequency, and thelike.

A power block, or other power supply coupled to an electrical grid maybe coupled with the BMS to charge the battery 630. In some examples, thepower block XS30 may be replaced with a wireless power receiver toobtain the power wirelessly, for example, through a loop antenna in thecomputer platform 600. In these examples, a wireless battery chargingcircuit may be included in the BMS. The specific charging circuitschosen may depend on the size of the battery 630, and thus, the currentrequired. The charging may be performed using the Airfuel standardpromulgated by the Airfuel Alliance, the Qi wireless charging standardpromulgated by the Wireless Power Consortium, or the Rezence chargingstandard promulgated by the Alliance for Wireless Power, among others.

User interface circuitry 650 includes various input/output (I/O) devicespresent within, or connected to, the platform 600, and includes one ormore user interfaces designed to enable user interaction with theplatform 600 and/or peripheral component interfaces designed to enableperipheral component interaction with the platform 600. The userinterface circuitry 650 includes input device circuitry and outputdevice circuitry. Input device circuitry includes any physical orvirtual means for accepting an input including, inter alia, one or morephysical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard,keypad, mouse, touchpad, touchscreen, microphones, scanner, headset,and/or the like. The output device circuitry includes any physical orvirtual means for showing information or otherwise conveyinginformation, such as sensor readings, actuator position(s), or otherlike information. Output device circuitry may include any number and/orcombinations of audio or visual display, including, inter alia, one ormore simple visual outputs/indicators (e.g., binary status indicators(e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)) and multi-character visual outputs,or more complex outputs such as display devices or touchscreens (e.g.,Liquid Chrystal Displays (LCD), LED displays, quantum dot displays,projectors, etc.), with the output of characters, graphics, multimediaobjects, and the like being generated or produced from the operation ofthe platform 600. The output device circuitry may also include speakersor other audio emitting devices, printer(s), and/or the like. In someembodiments, the sensor circuitry 621 may be used as the input devicecircuitry (e.g., an image capture device, motion capture device, or thelike) and one or more EMCs may be used as the output device circuitry(e.g., an actuator to provide haptic feedback or the like). In anotherexample, NFC circuitry comprising an NFC controller coupled with anantenna element and a processing device may be included to readelectronic tags and/or connect with another NFC-enabled device.Peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, anon-volatile memory port, a USB port, an audio jack, a power supplyinterface, etc.

Although not shown, the components of platform 600 may communicate withone another using a suitable bus or interconnect (IX) technology, whichmay include any number of technologies, including ISA, EISA, PCI, PCIx,PCIe, a Time-Trigger Protocol (TTP) system, a FlexRay system, or anynumber of other technologies. The bus/IX may be a proprietary bus/IX,for example, used in a SoC based system. Other bus/IX systems may beincluded, such as an I2C interface, an SPI interface, point-to-pointinterfaces, and a power bus, among others.

FIG. 7 illustrates example components of baseband circuitry 710 andradio front end modules (RFEM) 715 in accordance with variousembodiments. The baseband circuitry 710 corresponds to the basebandcircuitry 510 and 610 of FIGS. 5 and 6, respectively. The RFEM 715corresponds to the RFEM 515 and 615 of FIGS. 5 and 6, respectively. Asshown, the RFEMs 715 may include Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 706,front-end module (FEM) circuitry 708, antenna array 711 coupled togetherat least as shown.

The baseband circuitry 710 includes circuitry and/or control logicconfigured to carry out various radio/network protocol and radio controlfunctions that enable communication with one or more radio networks viathe RF circuitry 706. The radio control functions may include, but arenot limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radiofrequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulationcircuitry of the baseband circuitry 710 may include Fast-FourierTransform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping/demappingfunctionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of thebaseband circuitry 710 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution,turbo, Viterbi, or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoderfunctionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation andencoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and mayinclude other suitable functionality in other embodiments. The basebandcircuitry 710 is configured to process baseband signals received from areceive signal path of the RF circuitry 706 and to generate basebandsignals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 706. The basebandcircuitry 710 is configured to interface with application circuitry505/605 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) for generation and processing of thebaseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry 706.The baseband circuitry 710 may handle various radio control functions.

The aforementioned circuitry and/or control logic of the basebandcircuitry 710 may include one or more single or multi-core processors.For example, the one or more processors may include a 3G basebandprocessor 704A, a 4G/LTE baseband processor 704B, a 5G/NR basebandprocessor 704C, or some other baseband processor(s) 704D for otherexisting generations, generations in development or to be developed inthe future (e.g., sixth generation (6G), etc.). In other embodiments,some or all of the functionality of baseband processors 704A-D may beincluded in modules stored in the memory 704G and executed via a CentralProcessing Unit (CPU) 704E. In other embodiments, some or all of thefunctionality of baseband processors 704A-D may be provided as hardwareaccelerators (e.g., FPGAs, ASICs, etc.) loaded with the appropriate bitstreams or logic blocks stored in respective memory cells. In variousembodiments, the memory 704G may store program code of a real-time OS(RTOS), which when executed by the CPU 704E (or other basebandprocessor), is to cause the CPU 704E (or other baseband processor) tomanage resources of the baseband circuitry 710, schedule tasks, etc.Examples of the RTOS may include Operating System Embedded (OSE)™provided by Enea®, Nucleus RTOS™ provided by Mentor Graphics®, VersatileReal-Time Executive (VRTX) provided by Mentor Graphics®, ThreadX™provided by Express Logic®, FreeRTOS, REX OS provided by Qualcomm®, OKL4provided by Open Kernel (OK) Labs®, or any other suitable RTOS, such asthose discussed herein. In addition, the baseband circuitry 710 includesone or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 704F. The audioDSP(s) 704F include elements for compression/decompression and echocancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in otherembodiments.

In some embodiments, each of the processors 704A-704E include respectivememory interfaces to send/receive data to/from the memory 704G. Thebaseband circuitry 710 may further include one or more interfaces tocommunicatively couple to other circuitries/devices, such as aninterface to send/receive data to/from memory external to the basebandcircuitry 710; an application circuitry interface to send/receive datato/from the application circuitry 505/605 of FIGS. 5-7); an RF circuitryinterface to send/receive data to/from RF circuitry 706 of FIG. 7; awireless hardware connectivity interface to send/receive data to/fromone or more wireless hardware elements (e.g., Near Field Communication(NFC) components, Bluetooth®/Bluetooth® Low Energy components, Wi-Fi®components, and/or the like); and a power management interface tosend/receive power or control signals to/from the PMIC 625.

In alternate embodiments (which may be combined with the above describedembodiments), baseband circuitry 710 comprises one or more digitalbaseband systems, which are coupled with one another via an interconnectsubsystem and to a CPU subsystem, an audio subsystem, and an interfacesubsystem. The digital baseband subsystems may also be coupled to adigital baseband interface and a mixed-signal baseband subsystem viaanother interconnect subsystem. Each of the interconnect subsystems mayinclude a bus system, point-to-point connections, network-on-chip (NOC)structures, and/or some other suitable bus or interconnect technology,such as those discussed herein. The audio subsystem may include DSPcircuitry, buffer memory, program memory, speech processing acceleratorcircuitry, data converter circuitry such as analog-to-digital anddigital-to-analog converter circuitry, analog circuitry including one ormore of amplifiers and filters, and/or other like components. In anaspect of the present disclosure, baseband circuitry 710 may includeprotocol processing circuitry with one or more instances of controlcircuitry (not shown) to provide control functions for the digitalbaseband circuitry and/or radio frequency circuitry (e.g., the radiofront end modules 715).

Although not shown by FIG. 7, in some embodiments, the basebandcircuitry 710 includes individual processing device(s) to operate one ormore wireless communication protocols (e.g., a “multi-protocol basebandprocessor” or “protocol processing circuitry”) and individual processingdevice(s) to implement PHY layer functions. In these embodiments, thePHY layer functions include the aforementioned radio control functions.In these embodiments, the protocol processing circuitry operates orimplements various protocol layers/entities of one or more wirelesscommunication protocols. In a first example, the protocol processingcircuitry may operate LTE protocol entities and/or 5G/NR protocolentities when the baseband circuitry 710 and/or RF circuitry 706 arepart of mmWave communication circuitry or some other suitable cellularcommunication circuitry. In the first example, the protocol processingcircuitry would operate MAC, RLC, PDCP, SDAP, RRC, and NAS functions. Ina second example, the protocol processing circuitry may operate one ormore IEEE-based protocols when the baseband circuitry 710 and/or RFcircuitry 706 are part of a Wi-Fi communication system. In the secondexample, the protocol processing circuitry would operate Wi-Fi MAC andlogical link control (LLC) functions. The protocol processing circuitrymay include one or more memory structures (e.g., 704G) to store programcode and data for operating the protocol functions, as well as one ormore processing cores to execute the program code and perform variousoperations using the data. The baseband circuitry 710 may also supportradio communications for more than one wireless protocol.

The various hardware elements of the baseband circuitry 710 discussedherein may be implemented, for example, as a solder-down substrateincluding one or more integrated circuits (ICs), a single packaged ICsoldered to a main circuit board or a multi-chip module containing twoor more ICs. In one example, the components of the baseband circuitry710 may be suitably combined in a single chip or chipset, or disposed ona same circuit board. In another example, some or all of the constituentcomponents of the baseband circuitry 710 and RF circuitry 706 may beimplemented together such as, for example, a system on a chip (SoC) orSystem-in-Package (SiP). In another example, some or all of theconstituent components of the baseband circuitry 710 may be implementedas a separate SoC that is communicatively coupled with and RF circuitry706 (or multiple instances of RF circuitry 706). In yet another example,some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 710and the application circuitry 505/605 may be implemented together asindividual SoCs mounted to a same circuit board (e.g., a “multi-chippackage”).

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 710 may provide forcommunication compatible with one or more radio technologies. Forexample, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 710 may supportcommunication with an E-UTRAN or other WMAN, a WLAN, a WPAN. Embodimentsin which the baseband circuitry 710 is configured to support radiocommunications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to asmulti-mode baseband circuitry.

RF circuitry 706 may enable communication with wireless networks usingmodulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. Invarious embodiments, the RF circuitry 706 may include switches, filters,amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wirelessnetwork. RF circuitry 706 may include a receive signal path, which mayinclude circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEMcircuitry 708 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry710. RF circuitry 706 may also include a transmit signal path, which mayinclude circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by thebaseband circuitry 710 and provide RF output signals to the FEMcircuitry 708 for transmission.

In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 706 mayinclude mixer circuitry 706 a, amplifier circuitry 706 b and filtercircuitry 706 c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RFcircuitry 706 may include filter circuitry 706 c and mixer circuitry 706a. RF circuitry 706 may also include synthesizer circuitry 706 d forsynthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 706 a of thereceive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments,the mixer circuitry 706 a of the receive signal path may be configuredto down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 708 based onthe synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 706 d. Theamplifier circuitry 706 b may be configured to amplify thedown-converted signals and the filter circuitry 706 c may be a low-passfilter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwantedsignals from the down-converted signals to generate output basebandsignals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the basebandcircuitry 710 for further processing. In some embodiments, the outputbaseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although thisis not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 706 a of thereceive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope ofthe embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 706 a of the transmit signalpath may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on thesynthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 706 d togenerate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 708. The basebandsignals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 710 and may befiltered by filter circuitry 706 c.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 706 a of the receive signalpath and the mixer circuitry 706 a of the transmit signal path mayinclude two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadraturedownconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, themixer circuitry 706 a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry706 a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and maybe arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In someembodiments, the mixer circuitry 706 a of the receive signal path andthe mixer circuitry 706 a of the transmit signal path may be arrangedfor direct downconversion and direct upconversion, respectively. In someembodiments, the mixer circuitry 706 a of the receive signal path andthe mixer circuitry 706 a of the transmit signal path may be configuredfor super-heterodyne operation.

In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input basebandsignals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of theembodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternateembodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signalsmay be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RFcircuitry 706 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) anddigital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry710 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RFcircuitry 706.

In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may beprovided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope ofthe embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 706 d may be afractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although thescope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other typesof frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizercircuitry 706 d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequencymultiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with afrequency divider.

The synthesizer circuitry 706 d may be configured to synthesize anoutput frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 706 a of the RFcircuitry 706 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. Insome embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 706 d may be a fractionalN/N+1 synthesizer.

In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltagecontrolled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Dividercontrol input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 710 orthe application circuitry 505/605 depending on the desired outputfrequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may bedetermined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by theapplication circuitry 505/605.

Synthesizer circuitry 706 d of the RF circuitry 706 may include adivider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phaseaccumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulusdivider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phaseaccumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured todivide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out)to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, theDLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phasedetector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments,the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Ndequal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in thedelay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to helpensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 706 d may be configured togenerate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in otherembodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrierfrequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrierfrequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and dividercircuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency withmultiple different phases with respect to each other. In someembodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In someembodiments, the RF circuitry 706 may include an IQ/polar converter.

FEM circuitry 708 may include a receive signal path, which may includecircuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from antennaarray 711, amplify the received signals and provide the amplifiedversions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 706 for furtherprocessing. FEM circuitry 708 may also include a transmit signal path,which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals fortransmission provided by the RF circuitry 706 for transmission by one ormore of antenna elements of antenna array 711. In various embodiments,the amplification through the transmit or receive signal paths may bedone solely in the RF circuitry 706, solely in the FEM circuitry 708, orin both the RF circuitry 706 and the FEM circuitry 708.

In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 708 may include a TX/RX switch toswitch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEMcircuitry 708 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signalpath. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry 708 may include anLNA to amplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RFsignals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 706). The transmitsignal path of the FEM circuitry 708 may include a power amplifier (PA)to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 706), andone or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmissionby one or more antenna elements of the antenna array 711.

The antenna array 711 comprises one or more antenna elements, each ofwhich is configured convert electrical signals into radio waves totravel through the air and to convert received radio waves intoelectrical signals. For example, digital baseband signals provided bythe baseband circuitry 710 is converted into analog RF signals (e.g.,modulated waveform) that will be amplified and transmitted via theantenna elements of the antenna array 711 including one or more antennaelements (not shown). The antenna elements may be omnidirectional,direction, or a combination thereof. The antenna elements may be formedin a multitude of arranges as are known and/or discussed herein. Theantenna array 711 may comprise microstrip antennas or printed antennasthat are fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuitboards. The antenna array 711 may be formed in as a patch of metal foil(e.g., a patch antenna) in a variety of shapes, and may be coupled withthe RF circuitry 706 and/or FEM circuitry 708 using metal transmissionlines or the like.

Processors of the application circuitry 505/605 and processors of thebaseband circuitry 710 may be used to execute elements of one or moreinstances of a protocol stack. For example, processors of the basebandcircuitry 710, alone or in combination, may be used execute Layer 3,Layer 2, or Layer 1 functionality, while processors of the applicationcircuitry 505/605 may utilize data (e.g., packet data) received fromthese layers and further execute Layer 4 functionality (e.g., TCP andUDP layers). As referred to herein, Layer 3 may comprise a RRC layer,described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 2 maycomprise a MAC layer, an RLC layer, and a PDCP layer, described infurther detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 1 may comprise a PHYlayer of a UE/RAN node, described in further detail below.

FIG. 8 illustrates various protocol functions that may be implemented ina wireless communication device according to various embodiments. Inparticular, FIG. 8 includes an arrangement 800 showing interconnectionsbetween various protocol layers/entities. The following description ofFIG. 8 is provided for various protocol layers/entities that operate inconjunction with the 5G/NR system standards and LTE system standards,but some or all of the aspects of FIG. 8 may be applicable to otherwireless communication network systems as well.

The protocol layers of arrangement 800 may include one or more of PHY810, MAC 820, RLC 830, PDCP 840, SDAP 847, RRC 855, and NAS layer 857,in addition to other higher layer functions not illustrated. Theprotocol layers may include one or more service access points (e.g.,items 859, 856, 850, 849, 845, 835, 825, and 815 in FIG. 8) that mayprovide communication between two or more protocol layers.

The PHY 810 may transmit and receive physical layer signals 805 that maybe received from or transmitted to one or more other communicationdevices. The physical layer signals 805 may comprise one or morephysical channels, such as those discussed herein. The PHY 810 mayfurther perform link adaptation or adaptive modulation and coding (AMC),power control, cell search (e.g., for initial synchronization andhandover purposes), and other measurements used by higher layers, suchas the RRC 855. The PHY 810 may still further perform error detection onthe transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding/decodingof the transport channels, modulation/demodulation of physical channels,interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, and MIMOantenna processing. In embodiments, an instance of PHY 810 may processrequests from and provide indications to an instance of MAC 820 via oneor more PHY-SAP 815. According to some embodiments, requests andindications communicated via PHY-SAP 815 may comprise one or moretransport channels.

Instance(s) of MAC 820 may process requests from, and provideindications to, an instance of RLC 830 via one or more MAC-SAPs 825.These requests and indications communicated via the MAC-SAP 825 maycomprise one or more logical channels. The MAC 820 may perform mappingbetween the logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MACSDUs from one or more logical channels onto TBs to be delivered to PHY810 via the transport channels, de-multiplexing MAC SDUs to one or morelogical channels from TBs delivered from the PHY 810 via transportchannels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto TBs, scheduling informationreporting, error correction through HARQ, and logical channelprioritization.

Instance(s) of RLC 830 may process requests from and provide indicationsto an instance of PDCP 840 via one or more radio link control serviceaccess points (RLC-SAP) 835. These requests and indications communicatedvia RLC-SAP 835 may comprise one or more RLC channels. The RLC 830 mayoperate in a plurality of modes of operation, including: TransparentMode (TM), Unacknowledged Mode (UM), and Acknowledged Mode (AM). The RLC830 may execute transfer of upper layer protocol data units (PDUs),error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ) for AM datatransfers, and concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUsfor UM and AM data transfers. The RLC 830 may also executere-segmentation of RLC data PDUs for AM data transfers, reorder RLC dataPDUs for UM and AM data transfers, detect duplicate data for UM and AMdata transfers, discard RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transfers, detectprotocol errors for AM data transfers, and perform RLC re-establishment.

Instance(s) of PDCP 840 may process requests from and provideindications to instance(s) of RRC 855 and/or instance(s) of SDAP 847 viaone or more packet data convergence protocol service access points(PDCP-SAP) 845. These requests and indications communicated via PDCP-SAP845 may comprise one or more radio bearers. The PDCP 840 may executeheader compression and decompression of IP data, maintain PDCP SequenceNumbers (SNs), perform in-sequence delivery of upper layer PDUs atre-establishment of lower layers, eliminate duplicates of lower layerSDUs at re-establishment of lower layers for radio bearers mapped on RLCAM, cipher and decipher control plane data, perform integrity protectionand integrity verification of control plane data, control timer-baseddiscard of data, and perform security operations (e.g., ciphering,deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification, etc.).

Instance(s) of SDAP 847 may process requests from and provideindications to one or more higher layer protocol entities via one ormore SDAP-SAP 849. These requests and indications communicated viaSDAP-SAP 849 may comprise one or more QoS flows. The SDAP 847 may mapQoS flows to DRBs, and vice versa, and may also mark QFIs in DL and ULpackets. A single SDAP entity 847 may be configured for an individualPDU session. In the UL direction, the NG-RAN 210 may control the mappingof QoS Flows to DRB(s) in two different ways, reflective mapping orexplicit mapping. For reflective mapping, the SDAP 847 of a UE 201 maymonitor the QFIs of the DL packets for each DRB, and may apply the samemapping for packets flowing in the UL direction. For a DRB, the SDAP 847of the UE 201 may map the UL packets belonging to the QoS flows(s)corresponding to the QoS flow ID(s) and PDU session observed in the DLpackets for that DRB. To enable reflective mapping, the NG-RAN 410 maymark DL packets over the Uu interface with a QoS flow ID. The explicitmapping may involve the RRC 855 configuring the SDAP 847 with anexplicit QoS flow to DRB mapping rule, which may be stored and followedby the SDAP 847. In embodiments, the SDAP 847 may only be used in NRimplementations and may not be used in LTE implementations.

The RRC 855 may configure, via one or more management service accesspoints (M-SAP), aspects of one or more protocol layers, which mayinclude one or more instances of PHY 810, MAC 820, RLC 830, PDCP 840 andSDAP 847. In embodiments, an instance of RRC 855 may process requestsfrom and provide indications to one or more NAS entities 857 via one ormore RRC-SAPs 856. The main services and functions of the RRC 855 mayinclude broadcast of system information (e.g., included in MIBs or SIBsrelated to the NAS), broadcast of system information related to theaccess stratum (AS), paging, establishment, maintenance and release ofan RRC connection between the UE 201 and RAN 210 (e.g., RRC connectionpaging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, andRRC connection release), establishment, configuration, maintenance andrelease of point to point Radio Bearers, security functions includingkey management, inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UEmeasurement reporting. The MIBs and SIBs may comprise one or more IEs,which may each comprise individual data fields or data structures.

The NAS 857 may form the highest stratum of the control plane betweenthe UE 201 and the AMF 421. The NAS 857 may support the mobility of theUEs 201 and the session management procedures to establish and maintainIP connectivity between the UE 201 and a P-GW in LTE systems.

According to various embodiments, one or more protocol entities ofarrangement 800 may be implemented in UEs 201, RAN nodes 211, AMF 421 inNR implementations or MME 321 in LTE implementations, UPF 402 in NRimplementations or S-GW 322 and P-GW 323 in LTE implementations, or thelike to be used for control plane or user plane communications protocolstack between the aforementioned devices. In such embodiments, one ormore protocol entities that may be implemented in one or more of UE 201,gNB 211, AMF 421, etc. may communicate with a respective peer protocolentity that may be implemented in or on another device using theservices of respective lower layer protocol entities to perform suchcommunication. In some embodiments, a gNB-CU of the gNB 211 may host theRRC 855, SDAP 847, and PDCP 840 of the gNB that controls the operationof one or more gNB-DUs, and the gNB-DUs of the gNB 211 may each host theRLC 830, MAC 820, and PHY 810 of the gNB 211.

In a first example, a control plane protocol stack may comprise, inorder from highest layer to lowest layer, NAS 857, RRC 855, PDCP 840,RLC 830, MAC 820, and PHY 810. In this example, upper layers 860 may bebuilt on top of the NAS 857, which includes an IP layer 861, an SCTP862, and an application layer signaling protocol (AP) 863.

In NR implementations, the AP 863 may be an NG application protocollayer (NGAP or NG-AP) 863 for the NG interface 213 defined between theNG-RAN node 211 and the AMF 421, or the AP 863 may be an Xn applicationprotocol layer (XnAP or Xn-AP) 863 for the Xn interface 212 that isdefined between two or more RAN nodes 211.

The NG-AP 863 may support the functions of the NG interface 213 and maycomprise Elementary Procedures (EPs). An NG-AP EP may be a unit ofinteraction between the NG-RAN node 211 and the AMF 421. The NG-AP 863services may comprise two groups: UE-associated services (e.g., servicesrelated to a UE 201, 202) and non-UE-associated services (e.g., servicesrelated to the whole NG interface instance between the NG-RAN node 211and AMF 421). These services may include functions including, but notlimited to: a paging function for the sending of paging requests toNG-RAN nodes 211 involved in a particular paging area; a UE contextmanagement function for allowing the AMF 421 to establish, modify,and/or release a UE context in the AMF 421 and the NG-RAN node 211; amobility function for UEs 201 in ECM-CONNECTED mode for intra-system HOsto support mobility within NG-RAN and inter-system HOs to supportmobility from/to EPS systems; a NAS Signaling Transport function fortransporting or rerouting NAS messages between UE 201 and AMF 421; a NASnode selection function for determining an association between the AMF421 and the UE 201; NG interface management function(s) for setting upthe NG interface and monitoring for errors over the NG interface; awarning message transmission function for providing means to transferwarning messages via NG interface or cancel ongoing broadcast of warningmessages; a Configuration Transfer function for requesting andtransferring of RAN configuration information (e.g., SON information,performance measurement (PM) data, etc.) between two RAN nodes 211 viaCN 220; and/or other like functions.

The XnAP 863 may support the functions of the Xn interface 212 and maycomprise XnAP basic mobility procedures and XnAP global procedures. TheXnAP basic mobility procedures may comprise procedures used to handle UEmobility within the NG RAN 211 (or E-UTRAN 310), such as handoverpreparation and cancellation procedures, SN Status Transfer procedures,UE context retrieval and UE context release procedures, RAN pagingprocedures, dual connectivity related procedures, and the like. The XnAPglobal procedures may comprise procedures that are not related to aspecific UE 201, such as Xn interface setup and reset procedures, NG-RANupdate procedures, cell activation procedures, and the like.

In LTE implementations, the AP 863 may be an S1 Application Protocollayer (S1-AP) 863 for the S1 interface 213 defined between an E-UTRANnode 211 and an MME, or the AP 863 may be an X2 application protocollayer (X2AP or X2-AP) 863 for the X2 interface 212 that is definedbetween two or more E-UTRAN nodes 211.

The S1 Application Protocol layer (S1-AP) 863 may support the functionsof the S1 interface, and similar to the NG-AP discussed previously, theS1-AP may comprise S1-AP EPs. An S1-AP EP may be a unit of interactionbetween the E-UTRAN node 211 and an MME 321within an LTE CN 220. TheS1-AP 863 services may comprise two groups: UE-associated services andnon UE-associated services. These services perform functions including,but not limited to: E-UTRAN Radio Access Bearer (E-RAB) management, UEcapability indication, mobility, NAS signaling transport, RANInformation Management (RIM), and configuration transfer.

The X2AP 863 may support the functions of the X2 interface 212 and maycomprise X2AP basic mobility procedures and X2AP global procedures. TheX2AP basic mobility procedures may comprise procedures used to handle UEmobility within the E-UTRAN 220, such as handover preparation andcancellation procedures, SN Status Transfer procedures, UE contextretrieval and UE context release procedures, RAN paging procedures, dualconnectivity related procedures, and the like. The X2AP globalprocedures may comprise procedures that are not related to a specific UE201, such as X2 interface setup and reset procedures, load indicationprocedures, error indication procedures, cell activation procedures, andthe like.

The SCTP layer (alternatively referred to as the SCTP/IP layer) 862 mayprovide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages (e.g., NGAP orXnAP messages in NR implementations, or S1-AP or X2AP messages in LTEimplementations). The SCTP 862 may ensure reliable delivery of signalingmessages between the RAN node 211 and the AMF 421/MME 321 based, inpart, on the IP protocol, supported by the IP 861. The Internet Protocollayer (IP) 861 may be used to perform packet addressing and routingfunctionality. In some implementations the IP layer 861 may usepoint-to-point transmission to deliver and convey PDUs. In this regard,the RAN node 211 may comprise L2 and L1 layer communication links (e.g.,wired or wireless) with the MME/AMF to exchange information.

In a second example, a user plane protocol stack may comprise, in orderfrom highest layer to lowest layer, SDAP 847, PDCP 840, RLC 830, MAC820, and PHY 810. The user plane protocol stack may be used forcommunication between the UE 201, the RAN node 211, and UPF 402 in NRimplementations or an S-GW 322 and P-GW 323 in LTE implementations. Inthis example, upper layers 851 may be built on top of the SDAP 847, andmay include a user datagram protocol (UDP) and IP security layer(UDP/IP) 852, a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocolfor the user plane layer (GTP-U) 853, and a User Plane PDU layer (UPPDU) 863.

The transport network layer 854 (also referred to as a “transportlayer”) may be built on IP transport, and the GTP-U 853 may be used ontop of the UDP/IP layer 852 (comprising a UDP layer and IP layer) tocarry user plane PDUs (UP-PDUs). The IP layer (also referred to as the“Internet layer”) may be used to perform packet addressing and routingfunctionality. The IP layer may assign IP addresses to user data packetsin any of IPv4, IPv6, or PPP formats, for example.

The GTP-U 853 may be used for carrying user data within the GPRS corenetwork and between the radio access network and the core network. Theuser data transported can be packets in any of IPv4, IPv6, or PPPformats, for example. The UDP/IP 852 may provide checksums for dataintegrity, port numbers for addressing different functions at the sourceand destination, and encryption and authentication on the selected dataflows. The RAN node 211 and the S-GW 322 may utilize an S1-U interfaceto exchange user plane data via a protocol stack comprising an L1 layer(e.g., PHY 810), an L2 layer (e.g., MAC 820, RLC 830, PDCP 840, and/orSDAP 847), the UDP/IP layer 852, and the GTP-U 853. The S-GW 322 and theP-GW 323 may utilize an S5/S8a interface to exchange user plane data viaa protocol stack comprising an L1 layer, an L2 layer, the UDP/IP layer852, and the GTP-U 853. As discussed previously, NAS protocols maysupport the mobility of the UE 201 and the session management proceduresto establish and maintain IP connectivity between the UE 201 and theP-GW 323.

Moreover, although not shown by FIG. 8, an application layer may bepresent above the AP 863 and/or the transport network layer 854. Theapplication layer may be a layer in which a user of the UE 201, RAN node211, or other network element interacts with software applications beingexecuted, for example, by application circuitry 505 or applicationcircuitry 605, respectively. The application layer may also provide oneor more interfaces for software applications to interact withcommunications systems of the UE 201 or RAN node 211, such as thebaseband circuitry 710. In some implementations the IP layer and/or theapplication layer may provide the same or similar functionality aslayers 5-7, or portions thereof, of the Open Systems Interconnection(OSI) model (e.g., OSI Layer 7—the application layer, OSI Layer 6—thepresentation layer, and OSI Layer 5—the session layer).

FIG. 9 illustrates components of a core network in accordance withvarious embodiments. The components of the CN 320 may be implemented inone physical node or separate physical nodes including components toread and execute instructions from a machine-readable orcomputer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readablestorage medium). In embodiments, the components of CN 420 may beimplemented in a same or similar manner as discussed herein with regardto the components of CN 320. In some embodiments, NFV is utilized tovirtualize any or all of the above-described network node functions viaexecutable instructions stored in one or more computer-readable storagemediums (described in further detail below). A logical instantiation ofthe CN 320 may be referred to as a network slice 901, and individuallogical instantiations of the CN 320 may provide specific networkcapabilities and network characteristics. A logical instantiation of aportion of the CN 320 may be referred to as a network sub-slice 902(e.g., the network sub-slice 902 is shown to include the P-GW 323 andthe PCRF 326).

As used herein, the terms “instantiate,” “instantiation,” and the likemay refer to the creation of an instance, and an “instance” may refer toa concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, duringexecution of program code. A network instance may refer to informationidentifying a domain, which may be used for traffic detection androuting in case of different IP domains or overlapping IP addresses. Anetwork slice instance may refer to a set of network functions (NFs)instances and the resources (e.g., compute, storage, and networkingresources) required to deploy the network slice.

With respect to 5G systems (see, e.g., FIG. 4), a network slice alwayscomprises a RAN part and a CN part. The support of network slicingrelies on the principle that traffic for different slices is handled bydifferent PDU sessions. The network can realize the different networkslices by scheduling and also by providing different L1/L2configurations. The UE 401 provides assistance information for networkslice selection in an appropriate RRC message, if it has been providedby NAS. While the network can support large number of slices, the UEneed not support more than 8 slices simultaneously.

A network slice may include the CN 420 control plane and user plane NFs,NG-RANs 410 in a serving PLMN, and a N3IWF functions in the servingPLMN. Individual network slices may have different S-NSSAI and/or mayhave different SSTs. NSSAI includes one or more S-NSSAIs, and eachnetwork slice is uniquely identified by an S-NSSAI. Network slices maydiffer for supported features and network functions optimizations,and/or multiple network slice instances may deliver the sameservice/features but for different groups of UEs 401 (e.g., enterpriseusers). For example, individual network slices may deliver differentcommitted service(s) and/or may be dedicated to a particular customer orenterprise. In this example, each network slice may have differentS-NSSAIs with the same SST but with different slice differentiators.Additionally, a single UE may be served with one or more network sliceinstances simultaneously via a 5G AN and associated with eight differentS-NSSAIs. Moreover, an AMF 421 instance serving an individual UE 401 maybelong to each of the network slice instances serving that UE.

Network Slicing in the NG-RAN 410 involves RAN slice awareness. RANslice awareness includes differentiated handling of traffic fordifferent network slices, which have been pre-configured. Sliceawareness in the NG-RAN 410 is introduced at the PDU session level byindicating the S-NSSAI corresponding to a PDU session in all signalingthat includes PDU session resource information. How the NG-RAN 410supports the slice enabling in terms of NG-RAN functions (e.g., the setof network functions that comprise each slice) is implementationdependent. The NG-RAN 410 selects the RAN part of the network sliceusing assistance information provided by the UE 401 or the 5GC 420,which unambiguously identifies one or more of the pre-configured networkslices in the PLMN. The NG-RAN 410 also supports resource management andpolicy enforcement between slices as per SLAs. A single NG-RAN node maysupport multiple slices, and the NG-RAN 410 may also apply anappropriate RRM policy for the SLA in place to each supported slice. TheNG-RAN 410 may also support QoS differentiation within a slice.

The NG-RAN 410 may also use the UE assistance information for theselection of an AMF 421 during an initial attach, if available. TheNG-RAN 410 uses the assistance information for routing the initial NASto an AMF 421. If the NG-RAN 410 is unable to select an AMF 421 usingthe assistance information, or the UE 401 does not provide any suchinformation, the NG-RAN 410 sends the NAS signaling to a default AMF421, which may be among a pool of AMFs 421. For subsequent accesses, theUE 401 provides a temp ID, which is assigned to the UE 401 by the 5GC420, to enable the NG-RAN 410 to route the NAS message to theappropriate AMF 421 as long as the temp ID is valid. The NG-RAN 410 isaware of, and can reach, the AMF 421 that is associated with the tempID. Otherwise, the method for initial attach applies.

The NG-RAN 410 supports resource isolation between slices. NG-RAN 410resource isolation may be achieved by means of RRM policies andprotection mechanisms that should avoid that shortage of sharedresources if one slice breaks the service level agreement for anotherslice. In some implementations, it is possible to fully dedicate NG-RAN410 resources to a certain slice. How NG-RAN 410 supports resourceisolation is implementation dependent.

Some slices may be available only in part of the network. Awareness inthe NG-RAN 410 of the slices supported in the cells of its neighbors maybe beneficial for inter-frequency mobility in connected mode. The sliceavailability may not change within the UE's registration area. TheNG-RAN 410 and the 5GC 420 are responsible to handle a service requestfor a slice that may or may not be available in a given area. Admissionor rejection of access to a slice may depend on factors such as supportfor the slice, availability of resources, support of the requestedservice by NG-RAN 410.

The UE 401 may be associated with multiple network slicessimultaneously. In case the UE 401 is associated with multiple slicessimultaneously, only one signaling connection is maintained, and forintra-frequency cell reselection, the UE 401 tries to camp on the bestcell. For inter-frequency cell reselection, dedicated priorities can beused to control the frequency on which the UE 401 camps. The 5GC 420 isto validate that the UE 401 has the rights to access a network slice.Prior to receiving an Initial Context Setup Request message, the NG-RAN410 may be allowed to apply some provisional/local policies, based onawareness of a particular slice that the UE 401 is requesting to access.During the initial context setup, the NG-RAN 410 is informed of theslice for which resources are being requested.

NFV architectures and infrastructures may be used to virtualize one ormore NFs, alternatively performed by proprietary hardware, onto physicalresources comprising a combination of industry-standard server hardware,storage hardware, or switches. In other words, NFV systems can be usedto execute virtual or reconfigurable implementations of one or more EPCcomponents/functions.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating components, according to someexample embodiments, of a system 1000 to support NFV. The system 1000 isillustrated as including a VIM 1002, an NFVI 1004, an VNFM 1006, VNFs1008, an EM 1010, an NFVO 1012, and a NM 1014.

The VIM 1002 manages the resources of the NFVI 1004. The NFVI 1004 caninclude physical or virtual resources and applications (includinghypervisors) used to execute the system 1000. The VIM 1002 may managethe life cycle of virtual resources with the NFVI 1004 (e.g., creation,maintenance, and tear down of VMs associated with one or more physicalresources), track VM instances, track performance, fault and security ofVM instances and associated physical resources, and expose VM instancesand associated physical resources to other management systems.

The VNFM 1006 may manage the VNFs 1008. The VNFs 1008 may be used toexecute EPC components/functions. The VNFM 1006 may manage the lifecycle of the VNFs 1008 and track performance, fault and security of thevirtual aspects of VNFs 1008. The EM 1010 may track the performance,fault and security of the functional aspects of VNFs 1008. The trackingdata from the VNFM 1006 and the EM 1010 may comprise, for example, PMdata used by the VIM 1002 or the NFVI 1004. Both the VNFM 1006 and theEM 1010 can scale up/down the quantity of VNFs of the system 1000.

The NFVO 1012 may coordinate, authorize, release and engage resources ofthe NFVI 1004 in order to provide the requested service (e.g., toexecute an EPC function, component, or slice). The NM 1014 may provide apackage of end-user functions with the responsibility for the managementof a network, which may include network elements with VNFs,non-virtualized network functions, or both (management of the VNFs mayoccur via the EM 1010).

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating components, according to someexample embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readableor computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readablestorage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein. Specifically, FIG. 11 shows a diagrammaticrepresentation of hardware resources 1100 including one or moreprocessors (or processor cores) 1110, one or more memory/storage devices1120, and one or more communication resources 1130, each of which may becommunicatively coupled via a bus 1140. For embodiments where nodevirtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 1102 may beexecuted to provide an execution environment for one or more networkslices/sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 1100.

The processors 1110 may include, for example, a processor 1112 and aprocessor 1114. The processor(s) 1110 may be, for example, a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC)processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, agraphics processing unit (GPU), a DSP such as a baseband processor, anASIC, an FPGA, a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), anotherprocessor (including those discussed herein), or any suitablecombination thereof.

The memory/storage devices 1120 may include main memory, disk storage,or any suitable combination thereof. The memory/storage devices 1120 mayinclude, but are not limited to, any type of volatile or nonvolatilememory such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random accessmemory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), Flashmemory, solid-state storage, etc.

The communication resources 1130 may include interconnection or networkinterface components or other suitable devices to communicate with oneor more peripheral devices 1104 or one or more databases 1106 via anetwork 1108. For example, the communication resources 1130 may includewired communication components (e.g., for coupling via USB), cellularcommunication components, NFC components, Bluetooth® (or Bluetooth® LowEnergy) components, Wi-Fi® components, and other communicationcomponents.

Instructions 1150 may comprise software, a program, an application, anapplet, an app, or other executable code for causing at least any of theprocessors 1110 to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein. The instructions 1150 may reside, completely orpartially, within at least one of the processors 1110 (e.g., within theprocessor's cache memory), the memory/storage devices 1120, or anysuitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of theinstructions 1150 may be transferred to the hardware resources 1100 fromany combination of the peripheral devices 1104 or the databases 1106.Accordingly, the memory of processors 1110, the memory/storage devices1120, the peripheral devices 1104, and the databases 1106 are examplesof computer-readable and machine-readable media.

Example Procedures

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart 1200 for uplink antennal panel selectionaccording to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the electronicdevice(s), network(s), system(s), chip(s) or component(s), or portionsor implementations thereof, of FIGS. 2-11, or some other figure herein,may be configured to perform one or more processes, techniques, ormethods as described herein, or portions thereof. One such process isdepicted in FIG. 12. For example, the process may include identifying orcausing to identify a transmission signal in step 1202. The process mayfurther include determining or causing to determine whether an antennapanel is activated or deactivated in step 1204. The process may furtherinclude transmitting or causing to transmit the signal on an activatedantenna panel in step 1206.

FIG. 13 illustrates a flowchart 1300 for uplink antennal panel selectionfor a gNB according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, theelectronic device(s), network(s), system(s), chip(s) or component(s), orportions or implementations thereof, of FIGS. 2-11, or some other figureherein, may be configured to perform one or more processes, techniques,or methods as described herein, or portions thereof. One such process isdepicted in FIG. 13. For example, the process may include identifying orcausing to identify a received signal in step 1302. The process mayfurther include determining or causing to determine whether an antennapanel is activated or deactivated in step 1304. The process may furtherinclude transmitting or causing to transmit a transmission signal to anactivated antenna panel in step 1306.

For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components set forth inone or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one ormore operations, techniques, processes, and/or methods as set forth inthe example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry asdescribed above in connection with one or more of the preceding figuresmay be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of theexamples set forth below. For another example, circuitry associated witha UE, base station, network element, etc. as described above inconnection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configuredto operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forthbelow in the example section.

FIG. 14 illustrates a flowchart 1400 for uplink panel selection withreporting according to some embodiments. Flowchart 1400 may be used by aUE communicating with a network system, which may include a RAN node 211and/or other Next Generation NodeB (gNB). In some embodiments, userequipment (UE) 130, 201, 301, 401, and/or platform 600. The UE mayexecute flowchart 1400 to provide a report to a gNB indicating if apanel has been activated and/or deactivated.

In step 1402, a UE may identify a movement of the UE. For example, theUE may change a position, location, and/or rotation. The position of theUE may be determined relative to a gNB. For example, a UE may detect asignal strength of downlink transmissions based on the movement. Basedon this detection, the UE may identify a signal strength relative to thegNB and/or use this measurement when identifying the movement of the UE.

In step 1404, in response to the movement, the UE may deactivate a firstUE communication panel. In some embodiments, the UE may have beencommunicating with a gNB using the first UE communication panel prior tothe movement. In response to the movement, the UE may identify that adifferent antenna group and/or panel may yield higher signal strengthcommunications. This signal strength may be based on downlinkreceptions. In this manner, the UE may deactivate the first UEcommunication panel.

In step 1406, the UE may activate a second UE communication panel. Thesecond UE communication panel may differ from the first UE communicationpanel. In some embodiments, one or more antennas of the second UEcommunication panel may overlap with the first UE communication panel.In some embodiments, step 1406 may occur before step 1404. In someembodiments, step 1406 may occur simultaneously and/orsemi-simultaneously with step 1404. As previously explained, the UE mayidentify the second UE communication panel as having better receptionand/or transmission characteristics than the first UE communicationpanel based on the movement of the UE. The UE may determine thesecharacteristics based on a downlink signal from the gNB. The UE may thenactivate the second UE communication panel to perform uplinkcommunications with the gNB.

In step 1408, the UE may transmit a status message to a communicationnode, such as the gNB, indicating the deactivation of the first UEcommunication panel and/or the activation of the second UE communicationpanel. For example, the UE may transmit a panel ID in RRC signalingand/or a MAC CE. The panel ID may be included in a status messagetransmitted in an uplink channel and/or using signals including PUSCH,PUCCH, SRS, and/or PRACH.

In some embodiments, the UE may use beam reporting for the statusmessage. In a beam reporting instance carried by the PUCCH and/or PUSCH,the UE can report the beam quality. For example, the beam quality may bereported using a Layer 1 Reference Signal Receiving Power (L1-RSRP). TheUE may also report the measured panel index and/or beam index. Examplesof these indexes may include a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) and/orChannel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) index. A panel thathas not been reported and/or has not provided a report can be consideredas deactivated by the gNB.

In some embodiments, if a panel is activated from a deactivated state,the UE may trigger the PRACH to report a beam for this new panel. ThePRACH message may be transmitted from the corresponding panel. In someembodiments, the PRACH may be a contention based PRACH and/or acontention-free PRACH, which may be configured by higher layersignaling.

The UE may also report its capability of minimal delay to activate anuplink panel. For example, the UE can report the minimal schedulingoffset for a SRS, PUSCH, and/or PRACH when the trigger panel is in adeactivation state. The UE can report the minimal offset to transmit aHybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) by the PUCCHwhen the triggered panel is in a deactivation state.

In some embodiments, the UE may provide the status message by reportinga bit map. The bits of the bit map may indicate the activation and/ordeactivation status for a UE panel. The panel status can be reported ina periodic, semi-persistent, and/or aperiodic manner. This reporting maybe triggered or configured by RRC, MAC CE, and/or Downlink ControlInformation (DCI).

FIG. 15 illustrates a flowchart 1500 for uplink panel selection withslot monitoring according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, anetwork system, which may include a RAN node 211 and/or other NextGeneration NodeB (gNB), may execute flowchart 1500. For example, a gNBmay execute flowchart 1500 to identify an activated and/or deactivatedpanel at a UE.

In step 1502, the gNB may communication a UE via a first communicationpanel of the UE. For example, the UE may receive and/or transmit signalsusing the first communication panel. The gNB may also register and/orstore an identifier indicating that the gNB is communicating with thefirst communication panel.

In step 1504, the gNB may monitor uplink slots from the firstcommunication panel. Slots may refer to elements of a communicationframe and/or an organization of communications based on the time domain.The UE may transmit communication data in slots. The gNB may identifythe content of slots and/or a scheduling of communications within slotsto monitor communications from the UE.

In step 1506, the gNB may detect, within a slot threshold, an absence ofan uplink signal in the uplink slots. For example, the gNB may detect alack of a transmitted uplink signal and/or a lack of a scheduledtransmission from a panel within a number of slots before a currentslot. This number may be a threshold value which may be predefined orconfigured by higher layer signaling. In some embodiments, the number ofslots may be represented in the time domain using, for example,milliseconds. In some embodiments, one slot may be equal to onemillisecond. In some embodiments, if a UE has previously reported aminimal delay for a panel, the threshold may be set using this delayvalue. In this manner, if the gNB does not detect an uplink signalwithin a number of slots, the gNB may register the communication panelas deactivated in step 1508.

Returning to step 1506, a gNB may also detect an absence of an uplinksignal when no beam reporting instance has been reported within a numberof slots and/or milliseconds before a current slot. For example, a beamassociated with the panel may have been previously reported. If the gNBdoes not detect another beam reporting instance within a threshold slotand/or millisecond value, the gNB may register the first communicationpanel as deactivated in step 1508.

In step 1510, the gNB may establish communications with the UE via asecond communication panel of the UE. For example, in response toidentifying the first communication panel as deactivated, the gNB mayidentify a second communication panel as being activated. The UE mayprovide a reporting and/or status message indicating the activation ofthe second communication panel. This status message was previouslydescribed with reference to FIG. 14.

In some embodiments, the gNB may identify a second communication panelas activated based on a monitoring of communication slots. For example,the gNB may identify at least one instance of an uplink signaltransmitted or scheduled from the second communication panel within anumber of slots before a current slot. Similarly, the gNB may identifyat least one beam reporting instance within a number of slots before acurrent slot. Based on the monitoring, the gNB may establishcommunications and/or receive uplink transmissions from the UE via thesecond communication panel.

EXAMPLES

Example 1 may include an apparatus comprising: means for identifying orcausing to identify a transmission signal; means for determining orcausing to determine whether an antenna panel is activated ordeactivated; and means for transmitting or causing to transmit thesignal on an activated antenna panel.

Example 2 may include the subject matter of example 1, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the antenna panel is one of a plurality ofantenna panels.

Example 3 may include the subject matter of example 1, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the antenna panel is activated or deactivatedbased upon a predefined condition.

Example 4 may include the subject matter of example 3, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the predefined condition includes a panel ID notconfigured in RRC signaling or MAC CE for one or more uplink channelsand signals.

Example 5 may include the subject matter of example 4, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the uplink channels and signals include aselected one of PUSCH, PUCCH, SRS, and PRACH.

Example 6 may include the subject matter of example 3, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the predefined condition further includes anabsence of uplink signal transmitted or scheduled from the antenna panelwithin a predetermined number of slots or milliseconds before a currentslot.

Example 7 may include the subject matter of example 6, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the predetermined number of slots ormilliseconds before a current slot is predefined or configured by higherlayer signaling.

Example 8 may include the subject matter of example 6, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the predetermined number of slots ormilliseconds before a current slot is based on a UE capability.

Example 9 may include the subject matter of example 3, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the predetermined condition includes an absenceof beam reporting within a predetermined number of slots or millisecondsbefore a current slot, where at least one beam associated with theantenna panel is reported.

Example 10 may include the subject matter of example 1, or of any otherexample herein, wherein determining or causing to determine whether anantenna panel is activated or deactivated further includes identifyingor causing to identify a minimal delay to activate an uplink panel.

Example 11 may include the subject matter of example 1, or of any otherexample herein, further comprising means for transmitting or causing totransmit a signal indicating an activation or deactivation status of theantenna panel, wherein the transmission is by a PUCCH, PUSCH or MAC CE.

Example 12 may include the subject matter of example 11, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the transmission is via L1-RSRP, SSB or CSI-RSindex.

Example 13 may include the subject matter of example 12, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the transmission is periodic, semi-persistent,or aperiodic.

Example 14 may include the subject matter of any one of examples 1-13,or of any other example herein, wherein the apparatus is a UE or aportion thereof.

Example 15 may include an apparatus comprising: means for identifying orcausing to identify a received signal; means for determining or causingto determine whether an antenna panel is activated or deactivated; andmeans for transmitting or causing to transmit a transmission signal toan activated antenna panel.

Example 16 may include the subject matter of example 15, or of any otherexample herein, wherein means for determining or causing to determinewhether a UE antenna panel is activated or deactivated further includesmeans for determining whether a panel ID is configured in RRC signalingor MAC CE for at least one uplink channel or signal.

Example 17 may include the subject matter of example 16, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the uplink channel or signal includes PUSCH,PUCCH, SRS, or PRACH.

Example 18 may include subject matter of example 15, or of any otherexample herein, wherein means for determining or causing to determinewhether a UE antenna panel is activated or deactivated further includesmeans for identifying or causing to identify an instance of thetransmission of an uplink signal from the antenna panel within N slotsor milliseconds before a current slot.

Example 19 may include the subject matter of example 18, or of any otherexample herein, wherein N is a selected one of a predefined value, avalue configured by higher layer signaling, or a value based upon UEcapability.

Example 20 may include the subject matter of example 15, or of any otherexample herein, further comprising means for transmitting or causing totransmit a signal indicating an activation or deactivation status of theantenna panel, wherein the transmission is by a PUCCH, PUSCH or MAC CE.

Example 21 may include the subject matter of example 20, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the transmission is via L1-RSRP, SSB or CSI-RSindex.

Example 22 may include the subject matter of example 21, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the transmission is periodic, semi-persistent,or aperiodic.

Example 23 may include the subject matter of any one of examples 15-22,or of any other example herein, wherein the apparatus is a gNB or aportion thereof.

Example 24 may include the User Equipment (UE) comprising the circuitryto determine activation/deactivation status for an uplink antenna panel,to report activation/deactivation status for antenna panels, to reportits capability of minimal detail to activate an antenna panel, togenerate uplink signal from a panel which is previously deactivated.

Example 25 may include the subject matter of example 24 or some otherexample herein, wherein if the panel ID is not configured in RRCsignaling or MAC Control Element (CE) for any of or a subset of uplinkchannels and signals including PUSCH, PUCCH, SRS and PRACH, gNB canconsider a UE panel is deactivated; otherwise, gNB can consider a UEpanel is activated.

Example 26 may include the subject matter of example 24 or some otherexample herein, wherein if there is no uplink signal transmitted orscheduled from the panel within N slots/ms before current slot, gNB canconsider a UE panel is deactivated; otherwise, gNB can consider a UEpanel is activated.

Example 27 may include the subject matter of example 24 or some otherexample herein, wherein if there is no beam reporting instance reportedwithin N slots/ms before current slot for the panel, gNB can consider aUE panel is deactivated; otherwise, gNB can consider a UE panel isactivated.

Example 28 may include the subject matter of examples 26-27 or someother example herein, wherein N can be predefined or configured byhigher layer signaling or based on UE capability.

Example 29 may include the subject matter of example 24 or some otherexample herein, wherein if the panel ID is configured in RRC signalingand/or MAC Control Element (CE) for at least one of the uplink channelsand signals including PUSCH, PUCCH, SRS and PRACH, gNB can consider a UEpanel is activated; otherwise, gNB can consider a UE panel isdeactivated.

Example 30 may include the subject matter of example 24 or some otherexample herein, wherein if there is at least one instance of uplinksignal transmitted or scheduled from the panel within N slots/ms beforecurrent slot, gNB can consider a UE panel is activated; otherwise, gNBcan consider a UE panel is deactivated.

Example 31 may include the subject matter of example 24 or some otherexample herein, wherein if there is at least one beam reporting instancereported within N slots/ms before current slot for the panel, gNB canconsider a UE panel is activated; otherwise, gNB can consider a UE panelis deactivated.

Example 32 may include the subject matter of examples 30-31 or someother example herein, wherein N can be predefined or configured byhigher layer signaling or based on UE capability.

Example 33 may include the subject matter of example 24 or some otherexample herein, wherein the activation/deactivation status could bereported by UE by PUCCH, PUSCH or MAC CE.

Example 34 may include the subject matter of example 33 or some otherexample herein, wherein UE can be configured whether a beam reporting isfor uplink beam selection.

Example 35 may include the subject matter of example 34 or some otherexample herein, wherein if configured, in a beam reporting instancecarried by PUCCH or PUSCH, UE can report the beam quality, as well asthe measured panel index and beam index.

Example 36 may include the subject matter of example 35 or some otherexample herein, wherein the beam quality could be based on Layer 1Reference Signal Receiving Power (L1-RSRP) or Layer 1 Signal toInterference plus Noise Ratio (L1-SINR).

Example 37 may include the subject matter of example 35 or some otherexample herein, wherein the beam index could be based on SynchronizationSignal Block (SSB) or Channel State Information Reference Signal(CSI-RS) index.

Example 38 may include the subject matter of example 33 or some otherexample herein, wherein the panel status can be reported in periodic,semi-persistent or aperiodic manner, which can be triggered orconfigured by RRC or MAC CE or Downlink Control Information (DCI).

Example 39 may include the subject matter of example 24 or some otherexample herein, wherein if a panel is activated from deactivation state,UE may trigger PRACH to report a beam for this new panel, where thePRACH is transmitted from the corresponding panel and PRACH could be acontention based PRACH or contention-free PRACH which is configured byhigher layer signaling.

Example 40 may include the subject matter of example 24 or some otherexample herein, wherein to trigger corresponding uplink signal from adeactivated panel, the scheduling offset should be above the thresholdthat UE reported.

Example 41 may include the subject matter of example 24 or some otherexample herein, wherein two minimal scheduling offset could bepredefined in the spec, where the first one is used for the uplinksignal from activated panel and the second one is used for the uplinksignal from deactivated panel.

Example 42 may include a UE apparatus to: identify or cause to identifya transmission signal; determine or cause to determine whether anantenna panel is activated or deactivated; and transmit or cause totransmit the signal on an activated antenna panel.

Example 43 may include the subject matter of example 42, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the antenna panel is one of a plurality ofantenna panels.

Example 44 may include the subject matter of example 42, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the antenna panel is activated or deactivatedbased upon a predefined condition.

Example 45 may include the subject matter of example 44, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the predefined condition includes a panel ID notconfigured in RRC signaling or MAC CE for one or more uplink channelsand signals.

Example 46 may include the subject matter of example 45, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the uplink channels and signals include aselected one of PUSCH, PUCCH, SRS, and PRACH.

Example 47 may include the subject matter of example 44, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the predefined condition further includes anabsence of uplink signal transmitted or scheduled from the antenna panelwithin a predetermined number of slots or milliseconds before a currentslot.

Example 48 may include the subject matter of example 47, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the predetermined number of slots ormilliseconds before a current slot is predefined or configured by higherlayer signaling.

Example 49 may include the subject matter of example 47, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the predetermined number of slots ormilliseconds before a current slot is based on a UE capability.

Example 50 may include the subject matter of example 44, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the predetermined condition includes an absenceof beam reporting within a predetermined number of slots or millisecondsbefore a current slot, where at least one beam associated with theantenna panel is reported.

Example 51 may include the subject matter of example 42, or of any otherexample herein, wherein determine or cause to determine whether anantenna panel is activated or deactivated further includes identify orcause to identify a minimal delay to activate an uplink panel.

Example 52 may include the subject matter of example 42, or of any otherexample herein, further comprising transmit or cause to transmit asignal indicating an activation or deactivation status of the antennapanel, wherein the transmission is by a PUCCH, PUSCH or MAC CE.

Example 53 may include the subject matter of example 52, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the transmission is via L1-RSRP, SSB or CSI-RSindex.

Example 54 may include the subject matter of example 53, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the transmission is periodic, semi-persistent,or aperiodic.

Example 55 may include a gNB apparatus to: identify or cause to identifya received signal; determine or cause to determine whether an antennapanel is activated or deactivated; and transmit or cause to transmit atransmission signal to an activated antenna panel.

Example 56 may include the subject matter of example 55, or of any otherexample herein, wherein determine or cause to determine whether a UEantenna panel is activated or deactivated further includes to determinewhether a panel ID is configured in RRC signaling or MAC CE for at leastone uplink channel or signal.

Example 57 may include the subject matter of example 56, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the uplink channel or signal includes PUSCH,PUCCH, SRS, or PRACH.

Example 58 may include subject matter of example 55, or of any otherexample herein, wherein determine or cause to determine whether a UEantenna panel is activated or deactivated further includes identify orcause to identify an instance of the transmission of an uplink signalfrom the antenna panel within N slots or milliseconds before a currentslot.

Example 59 may include the subject matter of example 58, or of any otherexample herein, wherein N is a selected one of a predefined value, avalue configured by higher layer signaling, or a value based upon UEcapability.

Example 60 may include the subject matter of example 55, or of any otherexample herein, further comprising transmit or cause to transmit asignal indicating an activation or deactivation status of the antennapanel, wherein the transmission is by a PUCCH, PUSCH or MAC CE.

Example 61 may include the subject matter of example 60, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the transmission is via L1-RSRP, SSB or CSI-RSindex.

Example 62 may include the subject matter of example 61, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the transmission is periodic, semi-persistent,or aperiodic.

Example 63 may include a method for implementing a user equipment (UE)comprising: identifying or causing to identify a transmission signal;determining or causing to determine whether an antenna panel isactivated or deactivated; and transmitting or causing to transmit thesignal on an activated antenna panel.

Example 64 may include the subject matter of example 63, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the antenna panel is one of a plurality ofantenna panels.

Example 65 may include the subject matter of example 63, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the antenna panel is activated or deactivatedbased upon a predefined condition.

Example 66 may include the subject matter of example 65, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the predefined condition includes a panel ID notconfigured in RRC signaling or MAC CE for one or more uplink channelsand signals.

Example 67 may include the subject matter of example 66, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the uplink channels and signals include aselected one of PUSCH, PUCCH, SRS, and PRACH.

Example 68 may include the subject matter of example 65, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the predefined condition further includes anabsence of uplink signal transmitted or scheduled from the antenna panelwithin a predetermined number of slots or milliseconds before a currentslot.

Example 69 may include the subject matter of example 68, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the predetermined number of slots ormilliseconds before a current slot is predefined or configured by higherlayer signaling.

Example 70 may include the subject matter of example 68, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the predetermined number of slots ormilliseconds before a current slot is based on a UE capability.

Example 71 may include the subject matter of example 65, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the predetermined condition includes an absenceof beam reporting within a predetermined number of slots or millisecondsbefore a current slot, where at least one beam associated with theantenna panel is reported.

Example 72 may include the subject matter of example 63, or of any otherexample herein, wherein determining or causing to determine whether anantenna panel is activated or deactivated further includes identifyingor causing to identify a minimal delay to activate an uplink panel.

Example 73 may include the subject matter of example 63, or of any otherexample herein, further comprising transmitting or causing to transmit asignal indicating an activation or deactivation status of the antennapanel, wherein the transmission is by a PUCCH, PUSCH or MAC CE.

Example 74 may include the subject matter of example 73, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the transmission is via L1-RSRP, SSB or CSI-RSindex.

Example 75 may include the subject matter of example 74, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the transmission is periodic, semi-persistent,or aperiodic.

Example 76 may include the subject matter of any one of examples 63-75,or of any other example herein, wherein the method is implemented by aUE or a portion thereof.

Example 77 may include a method for implementing a gNB comprising:identifying or causing to identify a received signal; determining orcausing to determine whether an antenna panel is activated ordeactivated; and transmitting or causing to transmit a transmissionsignal to an activated antenna panel.

Example 78 may include the subject matter of example 77, or of any otherexample herein, wherein determining or causing to determine whether a UEantenna panel is activated or deactivated further includes determiningwhether a panel ID is configured in RRC signaling or MAC CE for at leastone uplink channel or signal.

Example 79 may include the subject matter of example 78, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the uplink channel or signal includes PUSCH,PUCCH, SRS, or PRACH.

Example 80 may include subject matter of example 77, or of any otherexample herein, wherein determining or causing to determine whether a UEantenna panel is activated or deactivated further includes identifyingor causing to identify an instance of the transmission of an uplinksignal from the antenna panel within N slots or milliseconds before acurrent slot.

Example 81 may include the subject matter of example 80, or of any otherexample herein, wherein N is a selected one of a predefined value, avalue configured by higher layer signaling, or a value based upon UEcapability.

Example 82 may include the subject matter of example 77, or of any otherexample herein, further comprising transmitting or causing to transmit asignal indicating an activation or deactivation status of the antennapanel, wherein the transmission is by a PUCCH, PUSCH or MAC CE.

Example 83 may include the subject matter of example 82, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the transmission is via L1-RSRP, SSB or CSI-RSindex.

Example 84 may include the subject matter of example 83, or of any otherexample herein, wherein the transmission is periodic, semi-persistent,or aperiodic.

Example 85 may include the subject matter of any one of examples 77-84,or of any other example herein, wherein the method is implemented by agNB or a portion thereof.

Example 86 may include an apparatus comprising means to perform one ormore elements of a method described in or related to any of examples1-85, or any other method or process described herein.

Example 87 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia comprising instructions to cause an electronic device, uponexecution of the instructions by one or more processors of theelectronic device, to perform one or more elements of a method describedin or related to any of examples 1-85, or any other method or processdescribed herein.

Example 88 may include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, orcircuitry to perform one or more elements of a method described in orrelated to any of examples 1-85, or any other method or processdescribed herein.

Example 89 may include a method, technique, or process as described inor related to any of examples 1-85, or portions or parts thereof.

Example 90 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processorsand one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that,when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to perform the method, techniques, or process as described inor related to any of examples 1-85, or portions thereof.

Example 91 may include a signal as described in or related to any ofexamples 1-85, or portions or parts thereof.

Example 92 may include a signal in a wireless network as shown anddescribed herein.

Example 93 may include a method of communicating in a wireless networkas shown and described herein.

Example 94 may include a system for providing wireless communication asshown and described herein.

Example 95 may include a device for providing wireless communication asshown and described herein.

Any of the above-described examples may be combined with any otherexample (or combination of examples), unless explicitly statedotherwise. The foregoing description of one or more implementationsprovides illustration and description, but is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the precise formdisclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of theabove teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments.

ABBREVIATIONS

For the purposes of the present document and without limitation, thefollowing abbreviations may apply to the examples and embodimentsdiscussed herein, but are not meant to be limiting.

-   -   3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project    -   4G Fourth Generation    -   5G Fifth Generation    -   5GC 5G Core network    -   ACK Acknowledgement    -   AF Application Function    -   AM Acknowledged Mode    -   AMBR Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate    -   AMF Access and Mobility Management Function    -   AN Access Network    -   ANR Automatic Neighbour Relation    -   AP Application Protocol, Antenna Port, Access Point    -   API Application Programming Interface    -   APN Access Point Name    -   ARP Allocation and Retention Priority    -   ARQ Automatic Repeat Request    -   AS Access Stratum    -   ASN.1 Abstract Syntax Notation One    -   AUSF Authentication Server Function    -   AWGN Additive White Gaussian Noise    -   BCH Broadcast Channel    -   BER Bit Error Ratio    -   BFD Beam Failure Detection    -   BLER Block Error Rate    -   BPSK Binary Phase Shift Keying    -   BRAS Broadband Remote Access Server    -   BSS Business Support System    -   BS Base Station    -   BSR Buffer Status Report    -   BW Bandwidth    -   BWP Bandwidth Part    -   C-RNTI Cell Radio Network Temporary Identity    -   CA Carrier Aggregation, Certification Authority    -   CAPEX CAPital EXpenditure    -   CBRA Contention Based Random Access    -   CC Component Carrier, Country Code, Cryptographic Checksum    -   CCA Clear Channel Assessment    -   CCE Control Channel Element    -   CCCH Common Control Channel    -   CE Coverage Enhancement    -   CDM Content Delivery Network    -   CDMA Code-Division Multiple Access    -   CFRA Contention Free Random Access    -   CG Cell Group    -   CI Cell Identity    -   CID Cell-ID (e.g., positioning method)    -   CIM Common Information Model    -   CIR Carrier to Interference Ratio    -   CK Cipher Key    -   CM Connection Management, Conditional Mandatory    -   CMAS Commercial Mobile Alert Service    -   CMD Command    -   CMS Cloud Management System    -   CN Controlling Node    -   CO Conditional Optional    -   CoMP Coordinated Multi-Point    -   CORESET Control Resource Set    -   COTS Commercial Off-The-Shelf    -   CP Control Plane, Cyclic Prefix, Connection Point    -   CPD Connection Point Descriptor    -   CPE Customer Premise Equipment    -   CPICH Common Pilot Channel    -   CQI Channel Quality Indicator    -   CPU CSI processing unit, Central Processing Unit    -   C/R Command/Response field bit    -   CRAN Cloud Radio Access Network, Cloud RAN    -   CRB Common Resource Block    -   CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check    -   CRI Channel-State Information Resource Indicator, CSI-RS        Resource Indicator    -   C-RNTI Cell RNTI    -   CS Circuit Switched    -   CSAR Cloud Service Archive    -   CSI Channel-State Information    -   CSI-IM CSI Interference Measurement    -   CSI-RS CSI Reference Signal    -   CSI-RSRP CSI reference signal received power    -   CSI-RSRQ CSI reference signal received quality    -   CSI-SINR CSI signal-to-noise and interference ratio    -   CSMA Carrier Sense Multiple Access    -   CSMA/CA CSMA with collision avoidance    -   CSS Common Search Space, Cell-specific Search Space    -   CTS Clear-to-Send    -   CW Codeword    -   CWS Contention Window Size    -   D2D Device-to-Device    -   DC Dual Connectivity, Direct Current    -   DCI Downlink Control Information    -   DF Deployment Flavour    -   DL Downlink    -   DMTF Distributed Management Task Force    -   DPDK Data Plane Development Kit    -   DM-RS, DMRS Demodulation Reference Signal    -   DN Data network    -   DRB Data Radio Bearer    -   DRS Discovery Reference Signal    -   DRX Discontinuous Reception    -   DSL Domain Specific Language. Digital Subscriber Line    -   DSLAM DSL Access Multiplexer    -   DwPTS Downlink Pilot Time Slot    -   E-LAN Ethernet Local Area Network    -   E2E End-to-End    -   ECCA extended clear channel assessment, extended CCA    -   ECCE Enhanced Control Channel Element, Enhanced CCE    -   ED Energy Detection    -   EDGE Enhanced Datarates for GSM Evolution (GSM Evolution)    -   EGMF Exposure Governance Management Function    -   EGPRS Enhanced GPRS    -   EIR Equipment Identity Register    -   eLAA enhanced Licensed Assisted Access, enhanced LAA    -   EM Element Manager    -   eMBB Enhanced Mobile Broadband    -   EMS Element Management System    -   eNB evolved NodeB, E-UTRAN Node B    -   EN-DC E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity    -   EPC Evolved Packet Core    -   EPDCCH enhanced PDCCH, enhanced Physical Downlink Control        Channel    -   EPRE Energy per resource element    -   EPS Evolved Packet System    -   EREG enhanced REG, enhanced resource element groups    -   ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute    -   ETWS Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System    -   eUICC embedded UICC, embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card    -   E-UTRA Evolved UTRA    -   E-UTRAN Evolved UTRAN    -   EV2X Enhanced V2X    -   F1AP F1 Application Protocol    -   F1-C F1 Control plane interface    -   F1-U F1 User plane interface    -   FACCH Fast Associated Control CHannel    -   FACCH/F Fast Associated Control Channel/Full rate    -   FACCH/H Fast Associated Control Channel/Half rate    -   FACH Forward Access Channel    -   FAUSCH Fast Uplink Signalling Channel    -   FB Functional Block    -   FBI Feedback Information    -   FCC Federal Communications Commission    -   FCCH Frequency Correction CHannel    -   FDD Frequency Division Duplex    -   FDM Frequency Division Multiplex    -   FDMA Frequency Division Multiple Access    -   FE Front End    -   FEC Forward Error Correction    -   FFS For Further Study    -   FFT Fast Fourier Transformation    -   feLAA further enhanced Licensed Assisted Access, further        enhanced LAA    -   FN Frame Number    -   FPGA Field-Programmable Gate Array    -   FR Frequency Range    -   G-RNTI GERAN Radio Network Temporary Identity    -   GERAN GSM EDGE RAN, GSM EDGE Radio Access Network    -   GGSN Gateway GPRS Support Node    -   GLONASS GLObal'naya NAvigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (Engl.:        Global Navigation Satellite System)    -   gNB Next Generation NodeB    -   gNB-CU gNB-centralized unit, Next Generation NodeB centralized        unit    -   gNB-DU gNB-distributed unit, Next Generation NodeB distributed        unit    -   GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System    -   GPRS General Packet Radio Service    -   GSM Global System for Mobile Communications, Groupe Spécial        Mobile    -   GTP GPRS Tunneling Protocol    -   GTP-U GPRS Tunnelling Protocol for User Plane    -   GTS Go To Sleep Signal (related to WUS)    -   GUMMEI Globally Unique MME Identifier    -   GUTI Globally Unique Temporary UE Identity    -   HARQ Hybrid ARQ, Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request    -   HANDO, HO Handover    -   HFN HyperFrame Number    -   HHO Hard Handover    -   HLR Home Location Register    -   HN Home Network    -   HO Handover    -   HPLMN Home Public Land Mobile Network    -   HSDPA High Speed Downlink Packet Access    -   HSN Hopping Sequence Number    -   HSPA High Speed Packet Access    -   HSS Home Subscriber Server    -   HSUPA High Speed Uplink Packet Access    -   HTTP Hyper Text Transfer Protocol    -   HTTPS Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (https is http/1.1        over SSL, i.e. port 443)    -   I-Block Information Block    -   ICCID Integrated Circuit Card Identification    -   ICIC Inter-Cell Interference Coordination    -   ID Identity, identifier    -   IDFT Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform    -   IE Information element    -   IBE In-Band Emission    -   IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers    -   IEI Information Element Identifier    -   IEIDL Information Element Identifier Data Length    -   IETF Internet Engineering Task Force    -   IF Infrastructure    -   IM Interference Measurement, Intermodulation, IP Multimedia    -   IMC IMS Credentials    -   IMEI International Mobile Equipment Identity    -   IMGI International mobile group identity    -   IMPI IP Multimedia Private Identity    -   IMPU IP Multimedia PUblic identity    -   IMS IP Multimedia Subsystem    -   IMSI International Mobile Subscriber Identity    -   IoT Internet of Things    -   IP Internet Protocol    -   Ipsec IP Security, Internet Protocol Security    -   IP-CAN IP-Connectivity Access Network    -   IP-M IP Multicast    -   IPv4 Internet Protocol Version 4    -   IPv6 Internet Protocol Version 6    -   IR Infrared    -   IS In Sync    -   IRP Integration Reference Point    -   ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network    -   ISIM IM Services Identity Module    -   ISO International Organisation for Standardisation    -   ISP Internet Service Provider    -   IWF Interworking-Function    -   I-WLAN Interworking WLAN    -   K Constraint length of the convolutional code, USIM Individual        key    -   kB Kilobyte (1000 bytes)    -   kbps kilo-bits per second    -   Kc Ciphering key    -   Ki Individual subscriber authentication key    -   KPI Key Performance Indicator    -   KQI Key Quality Indicator    -   KSI Key Set Identifier    -   ksps kilo-symbols per second    -   KVM Kernel Virtual Machine    -   L1 Layer 1 (physical layer)    -   L1-RSRP Layer 1 reference signal received power    -   L2 Layer 2 (data link layer)    -   L3 Layer 3 (network layer)    -   LAA Licensed Assisted Access    -   LAN Local Area Network    -   LBT Listen Before Talk    -   LCM LifeCycle Management    -   LCR Low Chip Rate    -   LCS Location Services    -   LCID Logical Channel ID    -   LI Layer Indicator    -   LLC Logical Link Control, Low Layer Compatibility    -   LPLMN Local PLMN    -   LPP LTE Positioning Protocol    -   LSB Least Significant Bit    -   LTE Long Term Evolution    -   LWA LTE-WLAN aggregation    -   LWIP LTE/WLAN Radio Level Integration with IPsec Tunnel    -   LTE Long Term Evolution    -   M2M Machine-to-Machine    -   MAC Medium Access Control (protocol layering context)    -   MAC Message authentication code (security/encryption context)    -   MAC-A MAC used for authentication and key agreement (TSG T WG3        context)    -   MAC-I MAC used for data integrity of signalling messages (TSG T        WG3 context)    -   MANO Management and Orchestration    -   MBMS Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service    -   MBSFN Multimedia Broadcast multicast service Single Frequency        Network    -   MCC Mobile Country Code    -   MCG Master Cell Group    -   MCOT Maximum Channel Occupancy Time    -   MCS Modulation and coding scheme    -   MDAF Management Data Analytics Function    -   MDAS Management Data Analytics Service    -   MDT Minimization of Drive Tests    -   ME Mobile Equipment    -   MeNB master eNB    -   MER Message Error Ratio    -   MGL Measurement Gap Length    -   MGRP Measurement Gap Repetition Period    -   MIB Master Information Block, Management Information Base    -   MIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output    -   MLC Mobile Location Centre    -   MM Mobility Management    -   MME Mobility Management Entity    -   MN Master Node    -   MO Measurement Object, Mobile Originated    -   MPBCH MTC Physical Broadcast CHannel    -   MPDCCH MTC Physical Downlink Control CHannel    -   MPDSCH MTC Physical Downlink Shared CHannel    -   MPRACH MTC Physical Random Access CHannel    -   MPUSCH MTC Physical Uplink Shared Channel    -   MPLS MultiProtocol Label Switching    -   MS Mobile Station    -   MSB Most Significant Bit    -   MSC Mobile Switching Centre    -   MSI Minimum System Information, MCH Scheduling Information    -   MSID Mobile Station Identifier    -   MSIN Mobile Station Identification Number    -   MSISDN Mobile Subscriber ISDN Number    -   MT Mobile Terminated, Mobile Termination    -   MTC Machine-Type Communications    -   mMTC massive MTC, massive Machine-Type Communications    -   MU-MIMO Multi User MIMO    -   MWUS MTC wake-up signal, MTC WUS    -   NACK Negative Acknowledgement    -   NAI Network Access Identifier    -   NAS Non-Access Stratum, Non-Access Stratum layer    -   NCT Network Connectivity Topology    -   NEC Network Capability Exposure    -   NE-DC NR-E-UTRA Dual Connectivity    -   NEF Network Exposure Function    -   NF Network Function    -   NFP Network Forwarding Path    -   NFPD Network Forwarding Path Descriptor    -   NFV Network Functions Virtualization    -   NFVI NFV Infrastructure    -   NFVO NFV Orchestrator    -   NG Next Generation, Next Gen    -   NGEN-DC NG-RAN E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity    -   NM Network Manager    -   NMS Network Management System    -   N-PoP Network Point of Presence    -   NMIB, N-MIB Narrowband MIB    -   NPBCH Narrowband Physical Broadcast CHannel    -   NPDCCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Control CHannel    -   NPDSCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Shared CHannel    -   NPRACH Narrowband Physical Random Access CHannel    -   NPUSCH Narrowband Physical Uplink Shared CHannel    -   NPSS Narrowband Primary Synchronization Signal    -   NSSS Narrowband Secondary Synchronization Signal    -   NR New Radio, Neighbour Relation    -   NRF NF Repository Function    -   NRS Narrowband Reference Signal    -   NS Network Service    -   NSA Non-Standalone operation mode    -   NSD Network Service Descriptor    -   NSR Network Service Record    -   NSSAI ‘Network Slice Selection Assistance Information    -   S-NNSAI Single-NSSAI    -   NSSF Network Slice Selection Function    -   NW Network    -   NWUS Narrowband wake-up signal, Narrowband WUS    -   NZP Non-Zero Power    -   O&M Operation and Maintenance    -   ODU2 Optical channel Data Unit—type 2    -   OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing    -   OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access    -   OOB Out-of-band    -   OOS Out of Sync    -   OPEX OPerating EXpense    -   OSI Other System Information    -   OSS Operations Support System    -   OTA over-the-air    -   PAPR Peak-to-Average Power Ratio    -   PAR Peak to Average Ratio    -   PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel    -   PC Power Control, Personal Computer    -   PCC Primary Component Carrier, Primary CC    -   PCell Primary Cell    -   PCI Physical Cell ID, Physical Cell Identity    -   PCEF Policy and Charging Enforcement Function    -   PCF Policy Control Function    -   PCRF Policy Control and Charging Rules Function    -   PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol, Packet Data Convergence        Protocol layer    -   PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel    -   PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol    -   PDN Packet Data Network, Public Data Network    -   PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel    -   PDU Protocol Data Unit    -   PEI Permanent Equipment Identifiers    -   PFD Packet Flow Description    -   P-GW PDN Gateway    -   PHICH Physical hybrid-ARQ indicator channel    -   PHY Physical layer    -   PLMN Public Land Mobile Network    -   PIN Personal Identification Number    -   PM Performance Measurement    -   PMI Precoding Matrix Indicator    -   PNF Physical Network Function    -   PNFD Physical Network Function Descriptor    -   PNFR Physical Network Function Record    -   POC PTT over Cellular    -   PP, PTP Point-to-Point    -   PPP Point-to-Point Protocol    -   PRACH Physical RACH    -   PRB Physical resource block    -   PRG Physical resource block group    -   ProSe Proximity Services, Proximity-Based Service    -   PRS Positioning Reference Signal    -   PRR Packet Reception Radio    -   PS Packet Services    -   PSBCH Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel    -   PSDCH Physical Sidelink Downlink Channel    -   PSCCH Physical Sidelink Control Channel    -   PSSCH Physical Sidelink Shared Channel    -   PSCell Primary SCell    -   PSS Primary Synchronization Signal    -   PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network    -   PT-RS Phase-tracking reference signal    -   PTT Push-to-Talk    -   PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel    -   PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel    -   QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation    -   QCI QoS class of identifier    -   QCL Quasi co-location    -   QFI QoS Flow ID, QoS Flow Identifier    -   QoS Quality of Service    -   QPSK Quadrature (Quaternary) Phase Shift Keying    -   QZSS Quasi-Zenith Satellite System    -   RA-RNTI Random Access RNTI    -   RAB Radio Access Bearer, Random Access Burst    -   RACH Random Access Channel    -   RADIUS Remote Authentication Dial In User Service    -   RAN Radio Access Network    -   RAND RANDom number (used for authentication)    -   RAR Random Access Response    -   RAT Radio Access Technology    -   RAU Routing Area Update    -   RB Resource block, Radio Bearer    -   RBG Resource block group    -   REG Resource Element Group    -   Rel Release    -   REQ REQuest    -   RF Radio Frequency    -   RI Rank Indicator    -   RIV Resource indicator value    -   RL Radio Link    -   RLC Radio Link Control, Radio Link Control layer    -   RLC AM RLC Acknowledged Mode    -   RLC UM RLC Unacknowledged Mode    -   RLF Radio Link Failure    -   RLM Radio Link Monitoring    -   RLM-RS Reference Signal for RLM    -   RM Registration Management    -   RMC Reference Measurement Channel    -   RMSI Remaining MSI, Remaining Minimum System Information    -   RN Relay Node    -   RNC Radio Network Controller    -   RNL Radio Network Layer    -   RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier    -   ROHC RObust Header Compression    -   RRC Radio Resource Control, Radio Resource Control layer    -   RRM Radio Resource Management    -   RS Reference Signal    -   RSRP Reference Signal Received Power    -   RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality    -   RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator    -   RSU Road Side Unit    -   RSTD Reference Signal Time difference    -   RTP Real Time Protocol    -   RTS Ready-To-Send    -   RTT Round Trip Time    -   Rx Reception, Receiving, Receiver    -   S1AP S1 Application Protocol    -   S1-MME S1 for the control plane    -   S1-U S1 for the user plane    -   S-GW Serving Gateway    -   S-RNTI SRNC Radio Network Temporary Identity    -   S-TMSI SAE Temporary Mobile Station Identifier    -   SA Standalone operation mode    -   SAE System Architecture Evolution    -   SAP Service Access Point    -   SAPD Service Access Point Descriptor    -   SAPI Service Access Point Identifier    -   SCC Secondary Component Carrier, Secondary CC    -   SCell Secondary Cell    -   SC-FDMA Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access    -   SCG Secondary Cell Group    -   SCM Security Context Management    -   SCS Subcarrier Spacing    -   SCTP Stream Control Transmission Protocol    -   SDAP Service Data Adaptation Protocol, Service Data Adaptation        Protocol layer    -   SDL Supplementary Downlink    -   SDNF Structured Data Storage Network Function    -   SDP Service Discovery Protocol (Bluetooth related)    -   SDSF Structured Data Storage Function    -   SDU Service Data Unit    -   SEAF Security Anchor Function    -   SeNB secondary eNB    -   SEPP Security Edge Protection Proxy    -   SFI Slot format indication    -   SFTD Space-Frequency Time Diversity, SFN and frame timing        difference    -   SFN System Frame Number    -   SgNB Secondary gNB    -   SGSN Serving GPRS Support Node    -   S-GW Serving Gateway    -   SI System Information    -   SI-RNTI System Information RNTI    -   SIB System Information Block    -   SIM Subscriber Identity Module    -   SIP Session Initiated Protocol    -   SiP System in Package    -   SL Sidelink    -   SLA Service Level Agreement    -   SM Session Management    -   SMF Session Management Function    -   SMS Short Message Service    -   SMSF SMS Function    -   SMTC SSB-based Measurement Timing Configuration    -   SN Secondary Node, Sequence Number    -   SoC System on Chip    -   SON Self-Organizing Network    -   SpCell Special Cell    -   SP-CSI-RNTI Semi-Persistent CSI RNTI    -   SPS Semi-Persistent Scheduling    -   SQN Sequence number    -   SR Scheduling Request    -   SRB Signalling Radio Bearer    -   SRS Sounding Reference Signal    -   SS Synchronization Signal    -   SSB Synchronization Signal Block, SS/PBCH Block    -   SSBRI SS/PBCH Block Resource Indicator, Synchronization Signal        Block Resource Indicator    -   SSC Session and Service Continuity    -   SS-RSRP Synchronization Signal based Reference Signal Received        Power    -   SS-RSRQ Synchronization Signal based Reference Signal Received        Quality    -   SS-SINR Synchronization Signal based Signal to Noise and        Interference Ratio    -   SSS Secondary Synchronization Signal    -   SSSG Search Space Set Group    -   SSSIF Search Space Set Indicator    -   SST Slice/Service Types    -   SU-MIMO Single User MIMO    -   SUL Supplementary Uplink    -   TA Timing Advance, Tracking Area    -   TAC Tracking Area Code    -   TAG Timing Advance Group    -   TAU Tracking Area Update    -   TB Transport Block    -   TBS Transport Block Size    -   TBD To Be Defined    -   TCI Transmission Configuration Indicator    -   TCP Transmission Communication Protocol    -   TDD Time Division Duplex    -   TDM Time Division Multiplexing    -   TDMA Time Division Multiple Access    -   TE Terminal Equipment    -   TEID Tunnel End Point Identifier    -   TFT Traffic Flow Template    -   TMSI Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity    -   TNL Transport Network Layer    -   TPC Transmit Power Control    -   TPMI Transmitted Precoding Matrix Indicator    -   TR Technical Report    -   TRP, TRxP Transmission Reception Point    -   TRS Tracking Reference Signal    -   TRx Transceiver    -   TS Technical Specifications, Technical Standard    -   TTI Transmission Time Interval    -   Tx Transmission, Transmitting, Transmitter    -   U-RNTI UTRAN Radio Network Temporary Identity    -   UART Universal Asynchronous Receiver and Transmitter    -   UCI Uplink Control Information    -   UE User Equipment    -   UDM Unified Data Management    -   UDP User Datagram Protocol    -   UDSF Unstructured Data Storage Network Function    -   UICC Universal Integrated Circuit Card    -   UL Uplink    -   UM Unacknowledged Mode    -   UML Unified Modelling Language    -   UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System    -   UP User Plane    -   UPF User Plane Function    -   URI Uniform Resource Identifier    -   URL Uniform Resource Locator    -   URLLC Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency    -   USB Universal Serial Bus    -   USIM Universal Subscriber Identity Module    -   USS UE-specific search space    -   UTRA UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access    -   UTRAN Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network    -   UwPTS Uplink Pilot Time Slot    -   V2I Vehicle-to-Infrastruction    -   V2P Vehicle-to-Pedestrian    -   V2V Vehicle-to-Vehicle    -   V2X Vehicle-to-everything    -   VIM Virtualized Infrastructure Manager    -   VL Virtual Link,    -   VLAN Virtual LAN, Virtual Local Area Network    -   VM Virtual Machine    -   VNF Virtualized Network Function    -   VNFFG VNF Forwarding Graph    -   VNFFGD VNF Forwarding Graph Descriptor    -   VNFM VNF Manager    -   VoIP Voice-over-IP, Voice-over-Internet Protocol    -   VPLMN Visited Public Land Mobile Network    -   VPN Virtual Private Network    -   VRB Virtual Resource Block    -   WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access    -   WLAN Wireless Local Area Network    -   WMAN Wireless Metropolitan Area Network    -   WPAN Wireless Personal Area Network    -   X2-C X2-Control plane    -   X2-U X2-User plane    -   XML eXtensible Markup Language    -   2ES EXpected user RESponse    -   XOR eXclusive OR    -   ZC Zadoff-Chu    -   ZP Zero Power

TERMINOLOGY

For the purposes of the present document, the following terms anddefinitions are applicable to the examples and embodiments discussedherein, but are not meant to be limiting.

The term “circuitry” as used herein refers to, is part of, or includeshardware components such as an electronic circuit, a logic circuit, aprocessor (shared, dedicated, or group) and/or memory (shared,dedicated, or group), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC),a field-programmable device (FPD) (e.g., a field-programmable gate array(FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a complex PLD (CPLD), ahigh-capacity PLD (HCPLD), a structured ASIC, or a programmable SoC),digital signal processors (DSPs), etc., that are configured to providethe described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry mayexecute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at leastsome of the described functionality. The term “circuitry” may also referto a combination of one or more hardware elements (or a combination ofcircuits used in an electrical or electronic system) with the programcode used to carry out the functionality of that program code. In theseembodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code maybe referred to as a particular type of circuitry.

The term “processor circuitry” as used herein refers to, is part of, orincludes circuitry capable of sequentially and automatically carryingout a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations, or recording,storing, and/or transferring digital data. The term “processorcircuitry” may refer to one or more application processors, one or morebaseband processors, a physical central processing unit (CPU), asingle-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, aquad-core processor, and/or any other device capable of executing orotherwise operating computer-executable instructions, such as programcode, software modules, and/or functional processes. The terms“application circuitry” and/or “baseband circuitry” may be consideredsynonymous to, and may be referred to as, “processor circuitry.”

The term “interface circuitry” as used herein refers to, is part of, orincludes circuitry that enables the exchange of information between twoor more components or devices. The term “interface circuitry” may referto one or more hardware interfaces, for example, buses, I/O interfaces,peripheral component interfaces, network interface cards, and/or thelike.

The term “user equipment” or “UE” as used herein refers to a device withradio communication capabilities and may describe a remote user ofnetwork resources in a communications network. The term “user equipment”or “UE” may be considered synonymous to, and may be referred to as,client, mobile, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobileunit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station,access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurableradio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. Furthermore, theterm “user equipment” or “UE” may include any type of wireless/wireddevice or any computing device including a wireless communicationsinterface.

The term “network element” as used herein refers to physical orvirtualized equipment and/or infrastructure used to provide wired orwireless communication network services. The term “network element” maybe considered synonymous to and/or referred to as a networked computer,networking hardware, network equipment, network node, router, switch,hub, bridge, radio network controller, RAN device, RAN node, gateway,server, virtualized VNF, NFVI, and/or the like.

The term “computer system” as used herein refers to any typeinterconnected electronic devices, computer devices, or componentsthereof. Additionally, the term “computer system” and/or “system” mayrefer to various components of a computer that are communicativelycoupled with one another. Furthermore, the term “computer system” and/or“system” may refer to multiple computer devices and/or multiplecomputing systems that are communicatively coupled with one another andconfigured to share computing and/or networking resources.

The term “appliance,” “computer appliance,” or the like, as used hereinrefers to a computer device or computer system with program code (e.g.,software or firmware) that is specifically designed to provide aspecific computing resource. A “virtual appliance” is a virtual machineimage to be implemented by a hypervisor-equipped device that virtualizesor emulates a computer appliance or otherwise is dedicated to provide aspecific computing resource.

The term “resource” as used herein refers to a physical or virtualdevice, a physical or virtual component within a computing environment,and/or a physical or virtual component within a particular device, suchas computer devices, mechanical devices, memory space, processor/CPUtime, processor/CPU usage, processor and accelerator loads, hardwaretime or usage, electrical power, input/output operations, ports ornetwork sockets, channel/link allocation, throughput, memory usage,storage, network, database and applications, workload units, and/or thelike. A “hardware resource” may refer to compute, storage, and/ornetwork resources provided by physical hardware element(s). A“virtualized resource” may refer to compute, storage, and/or networkresources provided by virtualization infrastructure to an application,device, system, etc. The term “network resource” or “communicationresource” may refer to resources that are accessible by computerdevices/systems via a communications network. The term “systemresources” may refer to any kind of shared entities to provide services,and may include computing and/or network resources. System resources maybe considered as a set of coherent functions, network data objects orservices, accessible through a server where such system resources resideon a single host or multiple hosts and are clearly identifiable.

The term “channel” as used herein refers to any transmission medium,either tangible or intangible, which is used to communicate data or adata stream. The term “channel” may be synonymous with and/or equivalentto “communications channel,” “data communications channel,”“transmission channel,” “data transmission channel,” “access channel,”“data access channel,” “link,” “data link,” “carrier,” “radiofrequencycarrier,” and/or any other like term denoting a pathway or mediumthrough which data is communicated. Additionally, the term “link” asused herein refers to a connection between two devices through a RAT forthe purpose of transmitting and receiving information.

The terms “instantiate,” “instantiation,” and the like as used hereinrefers to the creation of an instance. An “instance” also refers to aconcrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, duringexecution of program code.

The terms “coupled,” “communicatively coupled,” along with derivativesthereof are used herein. The term “coupled” may mean two or moreelements are in direct physical or electrical contact with one another,may mean that two or more elements indirectly contact each other butstill cooperate or interact with each other, and/or may mean that one ormore other elements are coupled or connected between the elements thatare said to be coupled with each other. The term “directly coupled” maymean that two or more elements are in direct contact with one another.The term “communicatively coupled” may mean that two or more elementsmay be in contact with one another by a means of communication includingthrough a wire or other interconnect connection, through a wirelesscommunication channel or ink, and/or the like.

The term “information element” refers to a structural element containingone or more fields. The term “field” refers to individual contents of aninformation element, or a data element that contains content.

The term “SMTC” refers to an SSB-based measurement timing configurationconfigured by SSB-MeasurementTimingConfiguration.

The term “SSB” refers to an SS/PBCH block.

The term “a “Primary Cell” refers to the MCG cell, operating on theprimary frequency, in which the UE either performs the initialconnection establishment procedure or initiates the connectionre-establishment procedure.

The term “Primary SCG Cell” refers to the SCG cell in which the UEperforms random access when performing the Reconfiguration with Syncprocedure for DC operation.

The term “Secondary Cell” refers to a cell providing additional radioresources on top of a Special Cell for a UE configured with CA.

The term “Secondary Cell Group” refers to the subset of serving cellscomprising the PSCell and zero or more secondary cells for a UEconfigured with DC.

The term “Serving Cell” refers to the primary cell for a UE inRRC_CONNECTED not configured with CA/DC there is only one serving cellcomprising of the primary cell.

The term “serving cell” or “serving cells” refers to the set of cellscomprising the Special Cell(s) and all secondary cells for a UE inRRC_CONNECTED configured with CA/.

The term “Special Cell” refers to the PCell of the MCG or the PSCell ofthe SCG for DC operation; otherwise, the term “Special Cell” refers tothe Pcell.

As described above, aspects of the present technology may include thegathering and use of data available from various sources, e.g., toimprove or enhance functionality. The present disclosure contemplatesthat in some instances, this gathered data may include personalinformation data that uniquely identifies or can be used to contact orlocate a specific person. Such personal information data can includedemographic data, location-based data, telephone numbers, emailaddresses, Twitter ID's, home addresses, data or records relating to auser's health or level of fitness (e.g., vital signs measurements,medication information, exercise information), date of birth, or anyother identifying or personal information. The present disclosurerecognizes that the use of such personal information data, in thepresent technology, may be used to the benefit of users.

The present disclosure contemplates that the entities responsible forthe collection, analysis, disclosure, transfer, storage, or other use ofsuch personal information data will comply with well-established privacypolicies and/or privacy practices. In particular, such entities shouldimplement and consistently use privacy policies and practices that aregenerally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmentalrequirements for maintaining personal information data private andsecure. Such policies should be easily accessible by users, and shouldbe updated as the collection and/or use of data changes. Personalinformation from users should be collected for legitimate and reasonableuses of the entity and not shared or sold outside of those legitimateuses. Further, such collection/sharing should only occur after receivingthe informed consent of the users. Additionally, such entities shouldconsider taking any needed steps for safeguarding and securing access tosuch personal information data and ensuring that others with access tothe personal information data adhere to their privacy policies andprocedures. Further, such entities can subject themselves to evaluationby third parties to certify their adherence to widely accepted privacypolicies and practices. In addition, policies and practices should beadapted for the particular types of personal information data beingcollected and/or accessed and adapted to applicable laws and standards,including jurisdiction-specific considerations. For instance, in the US,collection of, or access to, certain health data may be governed byfederal and/or state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability andAccountability Act (HIPAA); whereas health data in other countries maybe subject to other regulations and policies and should be handledaccordingly. Hence different privacy practices should be maintained fordifferent personal data types in each country.

Despite the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplatesembodiments in which users selectively block the use of, or access to,personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplatesthat hardware and/or software elements can be provided to prevent orblock access to such personal information data. For example, the presenttechnology may be configurable to allow users to selectively “opt in” or“opt out” of participation in the collection of personal informationdata, e.g., during registration for services or anytime thereafter. Inaddition to providing “opt in” and “opt out” options, the presentdisclosure contemplates providing notifications relating to the accessor use of personal information. For instance, a user may be notifiedupon downloading an app that their personal information data will beaccessed and then reminded again just before personal information datais accessed by the app.

Moreover, it is the intent of the present disclosure that personalinformation data should be managed and handled in a way to minimizerisks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Risk can beminimized by limiting the collection of data and deleting data once itis no longer needed. In addition, and when applicable, including incertain health related applications, data de-identification can be usedto protect a user's privacy. De-identification may be facilitated, whenappropriate, by removing specific identifiers (e.g., date of birth,etc.), controlling the amount or specificity of data stored (e.g.,collecting location data a city level rather than at an address level),controlling how data is stored (e.g., aggregating data across users),and/or other methods.

Therefore, although the present disclosure may broadly cover use ofpersonal information data to implement one or more various disclosedembodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that the variousembodiments can also be implemented without the need for accessing suchpersonal information data. That is, the various embodiments of thepresent technology are not rendered inoperable due to the lack of all ora portion of such personal information data.

1. A method, comprising: communicating with a user equipment (UE) via afirst communication panel of the UE; monitoring uplink slots from thefirst communication panel; detecting, within a slot threshold, anabsence of an uplink signal in the uplink slots; in response to thedetecting, registering the first communication panel as beingdeactivated; and establishing communications with the UE via a secondcommunication panel of the UE.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theslot threshold is a value in milliseconds.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the absence of an uplink signal includes an absence of ascheduled transmission from the first communication panel.
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein the absence of an uplink signal includes an absenceof a beam reporting.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishingfurther comprises: receiving a status message from the UE indicatingactivation of the second communication panel; and registering the secondcommunication panel as being activated.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein the status message includes a scheduling offset indicating adelay for activating the second communication panel.
 7. The method ofclaim 5, wherein the status message is a bit map.
 8. An apparatus,comprising: radio front end circuitry; and processing circuitry coupledto radio front end circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry isconfigured to: communicate with a user equipment (UE) via the radiofront end circuitry and via a first communication panel of the UE;monitor uplink slots from the first communication panel; detect, withina slot threshold, an absence of an uplink signal in the uplink slots; inresponse to the detecting, register the first communication panel asbeing deactivated; and establish communications with the UE via theradio front end circuitry and via a second communication panel of theUE.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the slot threshold is a valuein milliseconds.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the absence of anuplink signal includes an absence of a scheduled transmission from thefirst communication panel.
 11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein theabsence of an uplink signal includes an absence of a beam reporting. 12.The apparatus of claim 8, wherein to establish the communications viathe second communication panel, the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to: receive a status message from the UE indicatingactivation of the second communication panel; and register the secondcommunication panel as being activated.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12,wherein the status message includes a scheduling offset indicating adelay for activating the second communication panel.
 14. The apparatusof claim 12, wherein the status message is a bit map.
 15. A method,comprising: identifying a movement of a user equipment (UE); in responseto the movement, deactivating a first UE communication panel; activatinga second UE communication panel; and transmitting a status message to acommunication node indicating the deactivation of the first UEcommunication panel or the activation of the second UE communicationpanel.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the status message includes ascheduling offset indicating a delay for activating the secondcommunication panel.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the statusmessage is a bit map.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the statusmessage is transmitted periodically.
 19. The method of claim 15, whereinthe status message includes beam reporting.
 20. The method of claim 19,wherein the beam reporting includes a measured panel index.